Rand Strengthens as South Africa Returns to International Bond Market
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The South African rand firmed 0.4% to 16.9750 per dollar by 14:52 GMT as the National Treasury launched its first U.S. dollar eurobond sale since 2024, offering $1.75 billion each in 12- and 30-year notes with initial price guidance of 6.625–7.750%. Final pricing came at 6.25% and 7.375%, raising $3.5 billion on $13.1 billion demand, per Treasury statement December 5.
PSG Financial Services chief economist Johann Els attributed rand gains to South Africa’s FATF greylist exit, S&P BB outlook upgrade, and firm commodity prices, with African hard-currency spreads narrowing 314 basis points since April to 342 basis points per JPMorgan data. SARB reported the current account deficit narrowed to 0.7% of GDP in Q3 from 1.0% in Q2, or R57 billion ($3.36 billion). JSE Top-40 fell 0.3% while 2035 bond yields eased 3.5 basis points to 8.315%.
The sale marks South Africa’s return to international markets after a year-long absence, following an S&P upgrade and FATF greylist removal.
