From Global Pariah to Emerging-Market Proxy: The Rand Turns 60
- South Africa’s stability cements rand’s emerging-market status
- Rand trade disproportionately high relative to economy’s size
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For all of South Africa’s economic struggles, the rand looks set to mark its 60th birthday holding fast as the weather vane of emerging-market confidence.
The currency — once a global pariah — punches above its weight. The latest Bank of International Settlements global foreign-exchange report, released in April 2019, placed the rand as the 18th most-traded currency in the world, up from 20th in 2016. Daily total turnover for the currency, including spot, forwards, swaps and options, was $72 billion.