Rand dips after S&P hints at pressure on credit rating

SA’s rand relinquished earlier gains against the dollar on Wednesday after Standard & Poor's said weak economic growth remained a pressure point on its credit rating.

Johannesburg - South Africa's rand relinquished earlier gains against the dollar on Wednesday, turning weaker after Standard & Poor's said weak economic growth remained a pressure point on its credit rating.

Read: Low risk appetite hampers rand

The rand fell to a session low of 15.2800 against the greenback, down 1.1 percent from Tuesday's New York close of 15.1050.

S&P said earlier on Wednesday that South Africa's economic growth was already underperforming even before a severe drought and the global fall in commodity prices.

“It shows that, looking forward, growth opportunities will have to be found domestically,” S&P's Managing Director and chief European economist Jean-Michel Six said at a conference in Johannesburg.

REUTERS