laguna92688

its dropping value by the hour. From a high of R6.6 this morning to R6.9 now. Perfect timing for my trip which I leave for in 2 weeks!

jcasale

We leave in 2 days. Perfect timing for us - probably not such good news for people in South Africa.

Roccco

jcasale,

The weaker rand will actually help quite a few South Africans. It may just save 14,000 jobs in this one instance, alone:

http://allafrica.com/stories/200506020463.html

It's a shame that there are so many eggshells in this forum lately that we have to tread so softly. I, for one, am very pleased to see the Rand correcting itself.

laguna92688

Rocco is right we do have to be very careful not to offend anyone!
A weaker Rand is not necessarily a bad thing. What South Africa needs is a stable currency-not something that fluctuates between R6.2 and close to R7 in a matter of 2 weeks.

Celia

Actually, it isn't a weaker rand, it's a stronger dollar, I think. That is, the dollar is stronger relative to most currencies, rather than the rand being weaker relative to most currencies.

(At least that's the way it looks to this only semi-economically-literate person.)

laguna92688

I dont necessarily think that it is a stronger $. The $ remains very weak against the British Pound for example. The Rand has also lost significant value against multiple currencies across the past few weeks

sandi

The dollar is always weak against the British Pound!

Celia

Thank you, Laguna, I didn't realize the rand has been losing value against other currencies too.

laguna92688

Yes I know that you will receive more dollars for a pound than the other way around, BUT, the dollar is at historically low levels against the pound. It is not always so weak