South African rand closes at 18-month low

South African markets suffered added pressure from concerns over a sovereign ratings downgrade by Moody's, the last agency to rate its debt as investment-grade, following this week's budget. At 1537 GMT, the rand traded at 15.6700 per dollar, 1.18% weaker than its close on Thursday. The currency was at its weakest level since September 2018.

The stock market meanwhile lost almost 5%, and government bonds weakened with the yield on the benchmark instrument due in 2026 rising by 26.5 basis points to 8.127%. Hopes that the coronavirus outbreak could be contained in China have vanished this week as infections spread across the globe. This is also what drove the Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Top-40 Index down 4.5% to 45,852 points - its lowest level since January last year - and the broader all-share index down the same amount to 51,038 points.

Copyright Reuters, 2020

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