South Africa debates rand stability
May 09, 2010
THE South African government is looking at mechanisms to make its currency less volatile and more competitive, the minister for trade and industry said on Friday.
THE South African government is looking at mechanisms to make its currency less volatile and more competitive, the minister for trade and industry said on Friday.
The rand gained close to 30% against the dollar in 2009. It has traded with a firmer bias against the greenback for most of this year, although it weakened this week on concerns about the fallout from the Greek debt crisis.
“We have agreed in government that what we need is a less volatile and more competitive exchange rate,†Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said.
“We need a set of policies to guide us, to try to support less volatility around all these events that happen beyond our call,†he said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Africa meeting in Tanzania’s capital Dar es Salaam.
“That is where the debate is at, what are the mechanisms that we can use to try to achieve that objective? The objective, I think, is fundamental.â€
Davies, who said the rand was tracking the euro, did not elaborate on the kind of mechanisms the government was considering.
Reuters
The rand gained close to 30% against the dollar in 2009. It has traded with a firmer bias against the greenback for most of this year, although it weakened this week on concerns about the fallout from the Greek debt crisis.
“We have agreed in government that what we need is a less volatile and more competitive exchange rate,†Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said.
“We need a set of policies to guide us, to try to support less volatility around all these events that happen beyond our call,†he said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Africa meeting in Tanzania’s capital Dar es Salaam.
“That is where the debate is at, what are the mechanisms that we can use to try to achieve that objective? The objective, I think, is fundamental.â€
Davies, who said the rand was tracking the euro, did not elaborate on the kind of mechanisms the government was considering.
Reuters