On Friday, the South African rand approached its lowest level while the dollar remained stable.

Unprecedented. The rand was trading at 17.1900 against the dollar at 06:38 GMT. Bets that traders had been increasing were reduced after Fed Governor Christopher Waller and St. Louis Fed President John F. Kennedy announced that the dollar would not be affected by the economic downturn.Both Fed Governor Christopher Waller and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said they were in favor of another 75 basis point hike this month, despite the inflation numbers. Meanwhile, with a 7.8% year-on-year contraction in domestic output, the mining sector is a key factor on which the local currency depends. However, the government's benchmark 2030 bond was up in early trading, with the yield down 3.5 basis points to 10.975%.