Johannesburg - The rand weakened against the dollar for a third day, leading a slump in emerging-market currencies driven by concerns that Donald Trump will pursue policies that spur capital outflows from developing economies and weaken their exports.
The South African currency dropped 1.8 percent to 14.3791 per dollar by 10.34am in Johannesburg, set for its biggest weekly decline since the five days ended August 26.
The rand fell the most among 24 emerging-market countries tracked by Bloomberg.
Trump has signalled he’ll adopt more protectionist trade policies, while introducing fiscal stimulus that’s likely to hasten US interest-rate increases.
Benchmark rand-denominated South African government bonds also fell for a third day, the yield rising 17 basis points to 9.2 percent, the highest in more than five months on a closing basis.
The main Johannesburg stock index slumped 1.7 percent, heading for its first decline this week.
BLOOMBERG