South Africa’s rand sold off on Wednesday after newly appointed Finance Minister Tito Mboweni unveiled a downgraded economic forecast for the country. The rand was the worst performing emerging market currency versus the dollar during the session, with the greenback climbing more than 2% against it. Mboweni announced that government debt is expected to keep rising until 2024 — two years longer than expected — when it will hit some 60% of gross domestic product, rather than 56%, as previously forecast. The budget deficit is also set to widen. The rand slipped to a near two-week-low against the U.S. dollar, with one buck last buying 14.5760 rand, up more than 2% from 14.2569 late Tuesday in New York. The iShares MSCI South Africa ETF EZA, +4.24% was meanwhile down 4%.
