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Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

South African Rand Drops after Unemployment Data Hit Record High


Wed 02 Jun 2021 | 02:14 AM
Taarek Refaat

The South African rand dropped on Tuesday after the unemployment rate hit a new record in the first quarter, due to the pandemic.

The economy was also affected by blackouts and power cuts, which supply power to Africa's largest industrialized nation due to frequent failures in its faltering coal-fired power plant fleet.

The rand dropped 0.24% to 13.7775 per dollar, moving away from a 27-month high of 13.6775 last week.

South Africa's unemployment rate rose to a record high of 32.6% in Q1 of 2021, with job losses in the construction sector, trade, private bussinesses, transportation and agriculture sectors.

“Overall, these numbers suggest that the economy remains significantly impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, as many eligible workers remain inactive,” said Casey Delport, investment analyst at Anchor Capital.