JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s rand fell on Monday after comments by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump over the weekend worried traders in the BRICS bloc of emerging economies and raised questions about what his second term might mean for trade relations.
At 1506 GMT, the rand traded at 18.22 against the U.S. dollar, about 1% softer than its previous close.
Trump on Saturday demanded that BRICS member countries commit to not creating a new currency or supporting another currency that would replace the dollar or face 100% tariffs.
South Africa is a member of the BRICS bloc, along with Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Some market players said Trump’s comments might not have a lasting effect on the currency, but still raised concerns.
“Bearish momentum is unlikely to be sustained given that a BRICS currency does not exist and would, in any case, pose little risk to the USD’s status as the global reserve currency,” Danny Greeff, co-head of Africa at ETM Analytics, said.
“Nevertheless, Trump’s tariff threats provide a glimpse of what lies ahead in the coming four years as he will aim to improve on existing trade agreements for the U.S.’s benefit,” Greeff added.
Also on Monday, a local purchasing managers’ index survey showed that South African manufacturing activity fell in November as volatile demand conditions weighed on business activity, while data from the country’s auto association showed new vehicle sales jumped more than 8% in the same month.
Local investors will on Tuesday look to South Africa’s third quarter gross domestic product numbers for further clues on the health of Africa’s most industrialised economy.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Top-40 index closed about 1.6% up.
South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond slipped, with the yield up 2.5 basis points to 8.94%.
