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Pound extends rally despite delay to Autumn ...
The pound pushed higher again on Wednesday, with GBP investors seemingly unfazed by a delay to the UK government’s tax and spending plan.
Introduction to the pound to South African rand exchange rate
Whether you’re sending money to friends or relatives in South Africa, buying property, retiring there or working in the nation, you’ll need to use the GBP/ZAR exchange rate to convert your pounds into the local currency.
Facts about GBP/ZAR
The global financial crisis left the pound weaker against the South African rand, but the pairing gradually recovered and kept gaining until 2016, when the UK’s Brexit referendum caused GBP/ZAR to fall back to 2013 levels.
- The lowest GBP/ZAR rate seen during the last decade was 10.2373, which was struck on the 30th December 2010.
- The pound hit 24.5133 against the Rand (its best level for a decade) on January 11th 2015.
- ZAR is legal tender in Lesotho and Swaziland, and is also accepted in Namibia
Key currency information for Pound Sterling and the South African rand
The pound, also known as Sterling, has the symbol ‘£’, while the rand is represented by the letter ‘R’.
The rand is available in notes of R 200, R 100, R 50, R 20 and R 10. Coins are available in denominations of R 5, R 2, and R 1, as well as 50 cents, 20 cents, 10 cents and 5 cents.
The currency gets its name from the ridge where the bulk of South Africa’s gold deposits were discovered and Johannesburg subsequently built; Witwatersrand (White Waters Ridge). It was introduced on February 14th 1961, replacing the British Pound as legal tender.
Why does the GBP/ZAR exchange rate move?
The UK economy is largely based around services, so data showing strength or weakness in this sector has a strong influence on the pound. Since the UK’s Brexit referendum, political volatility has also weighed on GBP.
The Rand is a highly volatile currency due to the continued political instability that has hampered the nation’s economic recovery. The legacy of apartheid continues to weigh on the nation. South Africa is strongly export-based, producing mainly precious minerals such as gold and platinum, so data surrounding mining and trade have a significant impact upon ZAR.
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