The South African rand fell today on the speculation that the Prime Minister would announce the measures to weaken the currency during his today’s speech.

South Africa’s unemployment rate reached 25.3 percent in the third quarter of this year, while it was 25.2 percent in the second. The labor unions and the manufacturers claim that the strong currency are hurting exports and increasing unemployment, spurring Pravin Gordhan, South Africa’s Minister of Finance, to weaken the rand.

USD/ZAR surged from 6.916 to 7.021 as of 13:15 GMT today, following the advance to 7.053.

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