{"id":15315,"date":"2012-10-06T05:33:10","date_gmt":"2012-10-06T03:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/10\/update-1-s-africas-rand-hammered-to-3-12-year-lows\/"},"modified":"2012-10-06T05:33:10","modified_gmt":"2012-10-06T03:33:10","slug":"update-1-s-africas-rand-hammered-to-3-12-year-lows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/update-1-s-africas-rand-hammered-to-3-12-year-lows\/","title":{"rendered":"UPDATE 1-S.Africa’s rand hammered to 3-1\/2 year lows"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

(Adds background, analyst quote)<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

JOHANNESBURG<\/span> Oct 5 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand extended
\nits losses against the dollar to nearly 4 percent on Friday,
\nplumbing a 3-1\/2 year low as investors dumped local assets on
\nworries about the impact of a wave of illegal strikes sweeping
\nAfrica’s biggest economy.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The rand fell as low as 8.85 to the dollar, its
\nweakest level since April 2009, according to Reuters data.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

It was by far the worst performer on the day in a basket of
\n20 emerging market currencies monitored by Reuters.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The trigger for the fall was the firing on Friday of 12,000
\nwildcat strikers by Anglo American Platinum (Amplats),
\na high-stakes attempt by the world’s biggest platinum producer
\nto push back at a wave of illegal stoppages in South Africa’s
\nmining and other sectors.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The rand fell sharply after the announcement,
\nsuggesting investors fear the sackings could worsen what is
\nshaping up to be the most damaging period of labour unrest in
\nthe country since the end of apartheid in 1994.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The slide gained pace after markets closed in Johannesburg,
\na clear indication that the moves were driven by nervous foreign
\ninvestors.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflecting concerns about the spreading unrest which has
\nkilled almost 50 people, Moody’s cut South Africa’s credit
\nrating last week.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has already said he will
\nhave to cut his 2.7 percent growth forecast for 2012 when he
\ndelivers an interim budget on Oct. 24.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

“The government is doing nothing. We have tried this week to
\nunderstand what the government’s reaction and policy is to stop
\ncontagion between mines and between industries and sectors of
\nthe economy. There has been no response beyond ‘talks’,” said
\nNomura analyst Peter Attard Montalto.<\/p>\n

(Reporting by Stella Mapenzauswa and Ed Stoddard; Editing by
\nHugh Lawson)<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\t\t\u00a9 Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Adds background, analyst quote) JOHANNESBURG Oct 5 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand extended its losses against the dollar to nearly 4 percent on Friday, plumbing a 3-1\/2 year low as investors dumped local assets on worries about the impact of a wave of illegal strikes sweeping Africa’s biggest economy. The rand fell as low as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[830,2370,183],"class_list":{"0":"post-15315","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-south-africa","7":"tag-news","8":"tag-reuters","9":"tag-south-africa-2","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15315\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}