The USD/ZAR has gone into this weekend near the 17.62160 ratio and been able to show a bearish trend during the month of August, which is a rather noteworthy accomplishment for the South African Rand.
As talk about tariffs continue to make news on some fronts as South Africa faces duties imposed by the U.S White House, the USD/ZAR has not shown much nervousness. The USD/ZAR has gone into this weekend having produced a downturn in August after it started the month near the 18.00000 and actually rocketed up to nearly 18.36000 briefly on the 1st of the month. The reason why the USD/ZAR shot up like a rocket on the 1st of August was because of tariff concerns.
But financial institutions have obviously taken a deep breath and the USD/ZAR quickly started to trade lower after the initial fears early in August. Incremental selling quickly followed the highs seen in early August and by the 13th the 17.45800 vicinity was being tested. And that ladies and gentlemen brings you to today’s perspectives. The USD/ZAR for the past couple of weeks has seen a range between resistance levels around 17.77000, and support levels which have been peppered by lows around 17.48000 to even 1.41300 as recently as early last week – and this is important.
Correlations of Broad Forex Market for the USD/ZAR
Even as rumblings are heard about tariffs in South Africa and the always steady diet of domestic politics and rumored corruption make news, the USD/ZAR correlated well to the broad Forex market. Last week’s lows which came within sight of 17.40000 happened in the wake of U.S Fed Chairman Powell’s remarks about having to likely cut interest rates in September.
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The USD/ZAR is moving along with sentiment created by financial institutions which are still obviously influenced more by global affairs than noise being generated in South Africa. The ability of the USD/ZAR to challenge the 17.41300 early last week shows sentiment continues to lean into U.S Federal Reserve policy.
U.S Jobs Number This Friday and the Fed in Two Weeks Plus Time
Choppy conditions have been seen the past week in the USD/ZAR, some incremental buying can even be pointed to by traders. However the USD/ZAR near the 17.62160 ratio to start this week (tomorrow is Labor Day in the U.S and volumes will be light) and the knowledge that the end of this week will see the U.S jobs numbers is important.
- The Fed has practically admitted they will cut interest rates in September by 25 basis points.
- For the USD/ZAR to be targeted by day traders beyond 17.48000 may be too ambitious.
- Traders should be willing to look for depths seen before the previous two months, before they bet too big on sustained lows to develop.
- Jobs data will be important from the U.S this week, but the Fed’s FOMC Statement on the 17th of September will cause immediate large volatility.
USD/ZAR Outlook for September 2025:
Speculative price range for USD/ZAR is 17.33000 to 17.83000
If jobs numbers are worse than expected from the U.S via the Non-Farm Employment Change outcome, then the USD/ZAR could see more selling. This consideration is based on the belief the Fed would have to consider an October rate cut too. But the word uncertainty still linger. Support near 17.40000 mark has been important the past three months. Clear selling impetus is needed in addition to the facts that already exists for the USD/ZAR to fall below 17.40000 and sustain mark beneath.
The USD/ZAR has provided traders with a rather interesting price realm. Yes, the USD/ZAR can soar quickly when financial institutions get nervous about domestic affairs in South Africa, but this tends to last only a few days before things grow calm again. The USD/ZAR may feel like it should trade lower, but the currency pair has not shown the ability to traverse below the 17.40000 level in a sustained manner since November of 2024. More impetus is needed to make selling happen.
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