Publications
Partners
The rand slumped to a session trough of 10.6920, its weakest since July 18 and was down 0.83% at 10.6850 towards the close.
"It's all about a stronger dollar globally after the US GDP; the domestic news flow has taken a backseat today(Wednesday)," a trader with a Johannesburg investment bank said.
The dollar hit over 10-month highs against a basket of major currencies after the GDP data, which bolstered expectations for a more hawkish Federal Reserve statement later in the day.
Wage strikes
Government bonds weakened alongside the rand, pushing yields to their highest levels in more than two weeks.
The 2026 instrument, which the secondary market uses as a benchmark, was yielding 6 basis points higher at 8.29% at the close of trade.
The shorter-dated 2015 paper added 4 basis points to 6.695%.
The rand has weakened more than 2% against the dollar since the start of the year, weighed by fears that wage strikes in the platinum and manufacturing sectors will keep economic growth depressed.
