South Africa's rand tumbles to 11-week low

South Africa's rand kept tumbling on Friday, sliding to a new 12-week low after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global emergency, compounding local economic issues faced by the currency. At 1500 GMT the rand was 1.31% weaker at 14.9580 per dollar, its worst level since Nov. 11, bringing losses for the week to nearly 4% - the worst amongst emerging market peers, which also suffered as investors dumped risk assets for safer bets.

Bonds bucked the trend, with yields falling on the benchmark bonds. The yield on the 2030 fell 2.5 basis points to 8.98%. Stocks closed lower, with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Top-40 index falling 0.95% to 50,072 points, and the broader all-share index dropping 0.9% to 56,079 points.