The South African rand weakened to around 19.3 per USD, impacted by a strengthening USD and rising US treasury yields. Persistent power issues in South Africa and fears of a wider-than-expected deficit in the upcoming mid-term budget are pressuring the currency. Meanwhile, a lead CEEMEA Strategist at SocGen commented that rand losses would likely extend to year-end, also driven by China’s slow recovery, indicating the rand may reach the 19.80 level vs. the USD.