Virus Outbreaks in Sydney and South Africa Cool Hot Currency Trades
- Rand turns from winner to loser as new restrictions take hold
- Reopening delays forcing rethink of global reflation trade
The nearly deserted central business district of Sydney on June 28.
Photographer: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The end of the quarter is derailing hot currency trades as the spread of highly contagious coronavirus variants sees restrictions re-emerge more than a year after the start of the pandemic.
It’s taken just a month for the South African rand to turn from the biggest winner to loser in emerging markets, with a surge in Covid-19 cases and a renewed tightening of economic restrictions reversing the currency’s market-beating gains in May to the worst emerging-market performance in June.