Overview:

As the South African Rand (ZAR) is an emerging market, this currency carries less liquidity than that of developed market currencies but also higher volatility. USD to ZAR is becoming more popular to trade in recent times as the South African economy is more developed than other emerging markets. This currency pair tells traders how many South African Rand are needed to buy one unit of US Dollar.

Key Facts:

USD

• The Central Bank of the United States is the Federal Reserve (sometimes referred to as the Fed).
• USD is the main global reserve currency and the United States of America (U.S.A) is the largest economy in the world.
• The (US Dollar) USD is used to price most global commodities (including Oil and Gold).
• The US has a well developed economy with high productivity levels and is fuelled by huge natural resources.
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) states that the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is $15 trillion and makes-up c. 23% of global GDP to exchange rates.

ZAR

• The Central Bank of South Africa is The South African Reserve Bank.
• The South African Rand takes it name from the Witwatersrand (white waters ridge) which is the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and where most of South Africa’s gold deposits were found.
• Due to well-developed infrastructure, this emerging market is abundant in natural resources and is a major producer of Gold, Platinum and Chromium. South Africa also exports diamonds, machinery and other equipment.
• The ZAR is an attractive option and popular with the carry-trade due to the relatively high interest rates.