JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s rand slumped and bonds weakened on Tuesday after official data showed the economy contracted more sharply than expected in the first quarter.
The rand was more than 1% weaker at 14.60 per dollar after the figures showing growth nosedived 3.2% in January-March compared with the previous three months.
Economists had only expected a 1.7% contraction.
Year-on-year growth in Africa’s most industrialised economy was zero compared with forecasts for growth of 0.7%.
Bonds also weakened, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year issue up 4 basis points at 8.45% following the data release. – Reuters Africa