page_title: South African rand
section_title: 2001–2011
hierarchical_section_title: South African rand / History / Brief exchange rate history / 2001–2011
caption_attribution_description: English: South African Notes and Coins (2005-2012).
context_page_description: The rand is the official currency of South Africa. It is subdivided into 100 cents.
  The rand is legal tender in the Common Monetary Area between South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia, although the last three countries do have their own currencies pegged at par with the rand. Before 1976, the rand was legal tender in Botswana. The Botswanan pula replaced the rand at par in that year.
context_section_description: This sudden depreciation in 2001 led to a formal investigation, which in turn led to a dramatic recovery. By the end of 2002, the currency was trading under R 9 to the dollar again, and by the end of 2004 was trading under R 5.70 to the dollar. The currency softened somewhat in 2005, and was trading around R 6.35 to the dollar at the end of the year. At the start of 2006, however, the currency resumed its rally, and as of 19 January 2006, was trading under R 6 to the dollar again. However, during the second and third quarters of 2006 (i.e. April through September), the rand weakened significantly.
  In sterling terms, it fell from around 9.5% to just over 7%, losing some 25% of its international trade-weighted value in just six months. In late 2007, the rand rallied modestly to just over 8%, only to experience a precipitous slide during the first quarter of 2008.
  This downward slide could be attributed to a range of factors: South Africa's worsening current account deficit, which widened to a 36‑year high of 7.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2007; inflation at a five-year high of just under 9%; escalating global risk aversion as investors' concerns over the spreading impact of the sub-prime crisis grew; and a general flight to "safe havens", away from the perceived risks of emerging markets. The rand depreciation was exacerbated by the Eskom electricity crisis, which arose from the utility being unable to meet the country's rapidly growing energy demands.
caption: Banknotes and coins of the South African rand's fourth series (2005–2012)
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