With the festive season just around the corner we, you may be wondering what the best time is to convert your South African rands to foreign currency.

This time of year, people are spending more than any other time of year. There are holidays, car repairs, Christmas presents and New Year’s parties to plan, and come the new year, you have to budget for school fees, stationery, uniforms and don’t forget about the dreaded annual increases of most every account and subscription out there.

What does this mean for consumers?

Sadly the news isn’t great – the South African currency has now endured its longest run of quarterly losses on record and many commentators expect it to extend into the year-end and beyond. A stronger US dollar, coupled with the economic slowdown in China (South Africa’s largest trading partner) have all contributed to the current state of affairs. Locally the drought is expected to have a major impact on food prices, and a worsening deficit.

So what lies ahead?

Obviously we can’t predict currency movements, but at this stage it’s difficult to identify factors that will reverse the decline. Should the US delay the tightening of interest rates the impact may be positive for the rand as could an improvement in economic numbers from China, because it would likely lead to an increase in demand for South African commodities. Unfortunately however, neither of these seems likely which could leave us exposed to further adjustments.

Traditionally Christmas is a time of thin liquidity in foreign exchange markets which can itself lead to rate volatility, so it’s important to keep up to date with what’s happening.

Exchange your rands when it suits you!

At finglobal.com we understand that individual needs differ and not all of our clients want to exchange or transfer their funds at the same time. In order to cater for your individual needs, the finglobal.com forex team will be available every day except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

As a Reserve Bank authorised foreign exchange intermediary we have extensive cross-border knowledge and resources which means we can offer you top-notch service which is swift, efficient and gives you better exchange rates than commercial banks.

If you would like to discuss the conversion of your funds, simply leave your details and we’ll give you a call.