South Africa’s rand, government bonds and stocks surged on Wednesday, paring some of the losses amassed since the start of the Iran war after US President Donald Trump agreed to a two-week ceasefire.
Trump’s turnaround came shortly before a deadline he had set for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz – a key shipping route for about 20% of global oil – or face widespread attacks on its civilian infrastructure.
At 1232 GMT, the rand was up 3% at 16.3175 against the dollar, trading around its strongest level in almost a month.
The currency has been highly sensitive to swings in global risk sentiment since the conflict started on February 28, triggering Iranian retaliation and fuelling volatility across emerging markets.
South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond soared, with the yield falling 55.5 basis points to 8.545%.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index was last up 6.2%.
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