The increase in uncertainty in August resulted in the “king dollar” making solid gains during the month despite risk sentiment shifting in the second half of the month. As a result, the USD is a prominent player in this August forex movers review. Elsewhere, the Russian ruble continued to weaken against the greenback.
USDZAR +7.02%
- After a dip in July, the USD made strong gains against the ZAR in August, closing the month at 18.8644.
- Economic data from South Africa disappointed with private sector credit growing slower than expected and the country’s budget deficit widening.
- In addition, while macroeconomic uncertainty built a stronger case for dollar bulls, power cuts in South Africa also weighed on the currency.
USDRUB +5.72%
- After a slight pause in July, the USDRUB uptrend continued in August.
- The pair hit a high of 102.3550 during the month before a pullback saw it close at 95.8761.
- The Ukraine conflict continues to impact the Russian economy, resulting in the currency sliding.
- Reports stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin planned a meeting to discuss increasing currency controls following the currency’s decline.
EURZAR +5.04%
- The EURZAR is one of the top movers again after closing August at 20.4564.
- The negatives for the South African rand are listed above (under the USDZAR section), and macroeconomic uncertainty saw investors move cash to risk-off currencies.
- While the euro is not one of the primary risk-off currencies, investors will opt for the euro against riskier currencies in uncertain periods.
USDNOK +5.03%
- After a couple of months of declines, the USD made a slight comeback against the Norwegian krone.
- The pair closed the month at 10.6297.
- Given the previously mentioned slight uncertainty, the dollar made gains against many riskier currencies during August.
- The slide against the dollar during August is even though Norway’s central bank raised rates to 4%, although it was in line with consensus forecasts.
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