South African Currency Plunges to New Low Versus the Dollar a Day After the US Accused Country of Secretly Supplying Ammunition to Russia
The South African currency’s exchange rate versus the U.S. dollar plunged to a new all-time low of ZAR19.51:US$1 on May 12. The rand’s latest fall came a day after the U.S. ambassador to South Africa accused the country of secretly supplying weapons to Russia. Banking giant JP Morgan said it now projects South Africa’s gross domestic product to contract by 0.2%, down from the earlier positive projection of 0.3%. South Africa Denies It Supplied Ammunition to Russia The exchange rate of the South African currency versus the greenback fell to a new all-time low of 19.51 units of the rand for every dollar on May 12. The rand’s plunge came a day after the African country was accused of secretly supplying ammunition to Russia by a United States ambassador. With this latest drop, the South African rand depreciated by more than 5% in just one week and more than 12% since the start of the year. Before hitting the new low, the South African rand’s previous all-time low was set on April 5, 20