Rand Bears Brunt of EM Rout as Central Bank Seen Holding Rates

  • Market sees little chance of rate increase after GDP shock
  • Traders unwinding ‘Ramaphoria’ bets: Brown Brothers Harriman
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg
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South Africa’s rand led emerging-market currency declines, extending a slump to a six-month low as investors bet there’s little chance the nation’s central bank will follow developing-nation peers in raising interest rates.

The currency weakened as much as 2.4 percent before paring the decline to trade 1.4 percent weaker at 13.1617 per dollar as of 11:42 a.m. in Johannesburg, leading declines against the dollar. Yields on benchmark government bonds due 2026 soared 17 basis points to 8.97 percent, briefly spiking above 9 percent for the first time since December.