{"id":28497,"date":"2026-03-12T10:03:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&p=28497"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:03:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:03:09","slug":"rand-weakens-on-escalating-middle-east-tensions-ahead-of-local-data","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/rand-weakens-on-escalating-middle-east-tensions-ahead-of-local-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Rand weakens on escalating Middle East tensions ahead of local data"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The South African (SA) Rand weakened early on Thursday as escalating Middle East tensions and surging oil prices \u200bstoked inflation fears and dampened risk appetite ahead of \u200ckey domestic data.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rand traded at 16.5625 against the Dollar, roughly down 0.4% from Wednesday’s close.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The local currency has been \u200bunder pressure recently, shedding more than 3% last week, \u200bpressured by rising oil prices that pose a challenge \u2060for SA as a net energy importer.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Iran said \u200bthe world should brace for $200-a-barrel oil after its forces struck merchant ships \u200bon Wednesday, while the International Energy Agency urged a massive release of strategic reserves to blunt one of the worst oil shocks since the \u200b1970s.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Oil prices rose over $100 a barrel, adding to inflation pressures, \u200bas Iran stepped up attacks on oil and transport facilities across the Middle \u200cEast.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“For \u2060now, the key thing investors are watching is whether the Strait of Hormuz reopens, because that will likely determine whether oil prices settle down or continue climbing,” said Wichard Cilliers, \u200bHead of Market \u200bRisk at \u2060TreasuryONE.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Cilliers added that the Rand “will remain volatile” until there is clarity on the duration and scale \u200bof the conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The SA Reserve Bank\u00a0\u200bwill publish\u00a0\u2060fourth-quarter current account data.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Statistics SA will then release the January mining output and manufacturing \u2060production \u200bdata.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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SA’s benchmark \u200b2035 government bond was weaker in early deals, as the yield rose 13.5 \u200bbasis points to 8.61%.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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–Reuters–<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13745,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-28497","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"","published_date":"","news_description":"Rand weakens on escalating Middle East tensions ahead of local data","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28497\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28498,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/28497\/revisions\/28498"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=28497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}