Rand vs foreign currencies
Jan 11th, 2006, 06:35 AM
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Rand vs foreign currencies
It is 17h15 on Jan 11 SA time and the Rand is now at R6.01 to the US$. The Rand has been strengthening at an enormous rate for the past two weeks. General optimism in SA is at a highest point that I have ever witnessed in this wonderful country and every single economist is forecasting a much stronger Rand in 2006. Within the last 3 months the Rand has strengthened by 5%. http://quote.yahoo.com/m5?a=1&s=USD&t=ZAR.
Now the Rand is on the psychological threshold of breaking through the R6.00 to US$1.00 level leading me to the opinion that the Rand is going to become a lot stronger in a very short period in time.
With that said I think it would be a wise move for those who are planning on coming to SA in the next 6 months or so to convert lets say about 70% of their moneys that they are budgeting on spending on their journey into ZAR as soon as possible. This could be done by paying a strong percentage of ones accommodation bills upfront as well as going down to your local bank and purchasing ZAR traveller cheques. My gut feel tells me that you will save a lot by doing the above.
Needless to say currency fluctuations are very unpredictable, however when one looks at the trend of the Rand as well as the bullish atmosphere of local and foreign investors in SA the chances that the Rand will improve by a big margin are pretty good.
Please note this mail is ONLY a commentary on what I am seeing happen in SA right now and is NOT advice, after all who am I to give out advice like this with my background being an engineer who turned tourguide/operator.
If you are visiting us soon the above choice will be yours to make and if you are going to do the exchange my suggestion would be do so as soon as possible especially if you can still obtain a rate of 6 or higher.
Very proudly part of the wonderful
nation of South Africa
Now the Rand is on the psychological threshold of breaking through the R6.00 to US$1.00 level leading me to the opinion that the Rand is going to become a lot stronger in a very short period in time.
With that said I think it would be a wise move for those who are planning on coming to SA in the next 6 months or so to convert lets say about 70% of their moneys that they are budgeting on spending on their journey into ZAR as soon as possible. This could be done by paying a strong percentage of ones accommodation bills upfront as well as going down to your local bank and purchasing ZAR traveller cheques. My gut feel tells me that you will save a lot by doing the above.
Needless to say currency fluctuations are very unpredictable, however when one looks at the trend of the Rand as well as the bullish atmosphere of local and foreign investors in SA the chances that the Rand will improve by a big margin are pretty good.
Please note this mail is ONLY a commentary on what I am seeing happen in SA right now and is NOT advice, after all who am I to give out advice like this with my background being an engineer who turned tourguide/operator.
If you are visiting us soon the above choice will be yours to make and if you are going to do the exchange my suggestion would be do so as soon as possible especially if you can still obtain a rate of 6 or higher.
Very proudly part of the wonderful
nation of South Africa
Jan 11th, 2006, 07:25 AM
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I just got back from SA and I have to say that after about 5 trips there across the past few years it is clear that the country is going from strength-to-strength economically. Since my trip to the RSA in July and now the Rand has gained over 10% on the dollar.
Jan 11th, 2006, 08:11 AM
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Selwyn, we are coming to SA in February. My husband Jim has been watching the Rand, and noticed that we should be paying up front as much as possible, so we've been doing that. Buying travellers checks in Rands is not feasible for us -- the charges added on by banks in our small city make it a bad idea economically. I expect banks in New York or Los Angeles may be a better deal.
It's great to see the country getting more and more strong and stable, even if it does mean I have to save a little more between each trip! (*smile*)
It's great to see the country getting more and more strong and stable, even if it does mean I have to save a little more between each trip! (*smile*)
Feb 17th, 2006, 11:19 PM
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Roccco,
Please note that my original mail said the following:
"Please note this mail is ONLY a commentary on what I am seeing happen in SA right now and is NOT advice, after all who am I to give out advice like this with my background being an engineer who turned tourguide/operator"
Thus please dont label my mail as an advice because it certainly is not as such. Anyway relative to the above comment and your mail of 06/02/13 today (5 days later) the Rand is back at 6.01 to the US$ and I still believe and hope that it will strengthen further.
One other rather important point to add is that in the beginning of December 2005 the Rand was at 6.7 to the US$ and with it now being at 6.1 the strengthening of the currency is definitively positive. With that said it should always be remembered that foreign currencies can change in any direction within 5 minutes of a stupid political announcement or whatever.
Just my more valuable one rands worth.
Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa
Please note that my original mail said the following:
"Please note this mail is ONLY a commentary on what I am seeing happen in SA right now and is NOT advice, after all who am I to give out advice like this with my background being an engineer who turned tourguide/operator"
Thus please dont label my mail as an advice because it certainly is not as such. Anyway relative to the above comment and your mail of 06/02/13 today (5 days later) the Rand is back at 6.01 to the US$ and I still believe and hope that it will strengthen further.
One other rather important point to add is that in the beginning of December 2005 the Rand was at 6.7 to the US$ and with it now being at 6.1 the strengthening of the currency is definitively positive. With that said it should always be remembered that foreign currencies can change in any direction within 5 minutes of a stupid political announcement or whatever.
Just my more valuable one rands worth.
Very proudly part of the wonderful
nation of South Africa
