MyCURRENCY News | Week 23 2025

What we know

Last week, the Rand managed to trade, once again, to the best levels that we have seen this year. Trading remained in a 30-cent range but slowly traded from a high of R17.98/$ on Monday to a low of R17.68/$ on Friday.

The bulk of the Rand strength could be credited to the continuation of positive emerging market sentiment, and a weaker US Dollar.

There were a few heavy-hitting news headliners last week, and while they didn’t particularly impact Rand trading too much, were nonetheless noteworthy.

Firstly, the ECB decided to go forth with the market expectation of cutting Euro interest rates by 25 basis points. The implication of this being an increased differential between Euro interest rates and other hard currencies, and in general would have favoured a weaker Euro, but this was not the case.

The ECB conference, which began 30 minutes after the announcement, fuelled some Euro strength as the main focus was a positive Q1 growth rate, as well as growth rates being potentially higher than what was printed due to trade distortions as a result of US tariffs. Further to this, the ECB signalled that this may be the end of its rate-cutting cycle.

Later, during Thursday evening, X and the world at large witnessed one of the greatest ‘falling outs’ of this generation. Elon Musk, who aided Donald Trump in his presidential campaign (and may be attributed to a large portion of its success), stood out against Trump’s tax and government spending plan. While this was basically two adult-teenagers taking to social media to throw unsolicited insults at one another, it was an sharp shift in their dynamic and was reflective of the uncertainty around US politics in the current environment.

Aside from the US politicking, non-farm payroll and unemployment figures were released on Friday last week and printed flat, with a decrease in the number of jobs added to the payroll; however, not as large a decrease as was forecast. The unemployment rate remained at 4.2%.

What others say

Daily Maverick – Small business, big problems — SA’s entrepreneurs still face uphill battle

“In post-pandemic South Africa, the phrase “small business is the backbone of the economy” has become something of a national mantra. Small and medium enterprises account for more than 60% of jobs and roughly 40% of GDP, according to estimates from Stats SA and the Treasury, yet continue to face regulatory bottlenecks, financial exclusion and bureaucratic roadblocks that larger corporates are typically better equipped to manage.“

Reuters – US-China trade talks to resume for a second day

“Top U.S. and Chinese officials will resume trade talks for a second day in London on Tuesday, hoping to secure a breakthrough over export controls for goods such as rare earths that have threatened a global supply chain shock and slower economic growth.“

Moneyweb – Putin’s war economy roars ahead and the rest of Russia struggles

“Massive spending on the war has left growth increasingly confined to the military-industrial complex, with the imbalance in the economy underscoring how the Kremlin is ready to continue the war, but will potentially need years to return to normalcy even if the fighting stops.“