History Points to Rand Decline After South Africa's Poll: Chart

(Bloomberg) -- South Africa’s rand may be in for a rough ride after elections set for May 8, if history is any guide. Since the the start of the post-apartheid era, the currency of Africa’s most-industrialized economy has tended to strengthen in the month before the vote, but weaken in the 30 days afterward, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The outlier was 2009, when the rand was recovering from a record low reached during the global financial crisis.

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Brand in Cape Town at rbrand9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dana El Baltaji at delbaltaji@bloomberg.net, Robert Brand, Gordon Bell

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