JOHANNESBURG Jan 13 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand
lost 1.5 percent against the U.S. dollar in late trade on
Friday, falling quickly after Fitch ratings agency revised the
country’s outlook to negative from stable.
The rand dropped to 8.1680 just after the outlook
announcement, which came a few minutes after reports emerged in
Europe to suggest some euro zone countries might be downgraded
later in the session – hitting risk appetite.
The local unit had closed at 8.05 in New York on Thursday.
(Reporting by Xola Potelwa; Editing by Jon Herskovitz)
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