Rand Has Flash Crash as China's Woes Trigger Drop of Up to 9%
- Risk aversion and lack of liquidity have hurt rand: Westpac
- Plunge may boost South African interest rates: Standard Bank
South Africa Rand Plunges as Much as 9 Percent
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The South African rand plummeted by the most in more than seven years on Monday and bonds tumbled as market turmoil in China and a drop in U.S. stocks deterred risk-taking.
The rand plunged as much as 9 percent, the most since October 2008, to 17.9169 per dollar, before paring losses. It was 2.2 percent weaker at 16.6559 by 5:16 p.m. in Johannesburg, the biggest decline among 31 emerging-market and major currencies. One-month implied volatility surged 3.52 percentage points to 23.45 percent, suggesting options traders expect wider price swings in coming weeks.