South Africa’s rand inched up on Wednesday after dropping to two-months lows the day before, as some risk demand returned amid concern over the global economy.

At 0650 GMT the rand was up 0.4% to 17.3000 per dollar, after falling to 17.5350 in the previous session, its worst since early June.

Analysts at Nedbank in a note said the rand traded on the back foot yesterday, despite local sellers of USD. This supply was easily absorbed by offshore-driven demand, with the rand an apparent proxy for all emerging-market currencies.

A delay in agreement over the latest coronavirus relief package in the United States has also slowed demand for the dollar, leading to some recovery in emerging-market assets.

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