When Cyril Ramaphosa was sworn in as the South African president, investors around the world were hopeful of the country. Money started to flow. They were impressed with the role of Ramaphosa to the liberation of the country. They were also impressed with his resume in business, which included the founding of one of the largest companies in the country and his track record as a corruption-free individual.
Then, things started to go south. The Guardian wrote that Ramaphoria had turned to Ramageddon. As a good explanation to this, the country entered a recession last week according to the data from the South African Bureau of Statistics.
The South African economy is facing a major issue. The price of commodities that long supported the economy has fallen. Companies are either shutting down mines or laying off thousands of people. In addition, the manufacturing industries that employed thousands of people have started eliminating them as the cost of doing business has increased. This has been worsened by the increased cases of hooliganism and strikes. The ongoing debate on land ownership has made the case worse.
Last week, the South African Rand reached a YTD high of 15.6 against the dollar. It then eased a bit and the USD/ZAR pair ended the week at 15.23. The current level has reached above the 21 and 42 SMA. The RSI is at 60, which is lower than last week’s high of 82. The pair may continue going up – potentially to 16 – as the South African economy goes through these challenges.
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