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US Dollar to South African Rand Rate Up 1.1% as Zuma Remains President

Published: 9 Aug at 3 PM Tags: Dollar Exchange Rate, Rand Exchange Rate,

US Dollar to Rand Rate Rises despite Heightened Tension about Nuclear War

In spite of the handicap of alarming political news, the US Dollar has still risen against the South African Rand today.

The main news today has been that tensions between the US and North Korea have seemingly hit an all-time high.

Responding to news that North Korea could be capable of manufacturing nuclear missiles, US President Donald Trump warned of ‘fire and fury’ falling on the North Korean regime if it did not halt its nuclear ambitions.

In a quick and alarming escalation, the North Korean government claimed that it was ‘carefully examining’ plans to attack the US Pacific territory of Guam.

This back-and-forth has raised the stakes when it comes to an actual global conflict and sent traders rushing to safe havens like gold and government bonds. The rush was only intensified by remarks from Harry Kazianis, Director of Defence Studies at the Center for the National Interest;

‘Today is the day that we can definitely say North Korea is a nuclear power. There is no more time to stick our heads in the sand and think we have months or years to confront this challenge’.

The only real positive news has been that US productivity outside of the agricultural sector has risen in Q2.

US Dollar traders are primed for Thursday’s jobless claims figures, which are expected to show lower continuing claims but no change in initial claim counts.

Rand Crashes as Secret Vote on Zuma Fails

Whatever the fears in the US recently, these have not compared to a sharp downturn in South African confidence, which has also devalued the Rand.

To the surprise of some and the delight of others, President Jacob Zuma remains in power after surviving yet another vote of no confidence.

Although this latest challenge to Zuma’s leadership was a secret ballot, it still failed to garner enough support. It had been hoped that African National Congress (ANC) would turn on their President under the veil of anonymity, but the final results saw a 198 to 177 vote majority.

Zuma has been in the firing line for years, having garnered intense controversy by firing Pravin Gordhan as Finance Minister and because of his apparent collusion with the wealthy Gupta family.

The Rand could recover if mining production figures show growth on Thursday, while higher consumer confidence on Friday may also spark a ZAR USD advance.
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