The South African Reserve Bank has revised the nominal and real effective exchange rate indices for the rand to reflect changes in manufactured goods trade since the previous review in 2020. The revised indices use 2022 as the base year and trading data from 2022 to 2024, with the new weights applying from Jan. 3, 2022. China overtook the euro area as South Africa’s largest weighted trading partner, underscoring the rand’s increased exposure to Chinese prices and currency movements. The basket expanded from 20 to 23 trading partners. Czechia, Indonesia, Türkiye and Mexico were added, while Malaysia was removed. China’s overall trade weight rose from 24.5% to 28.6%, compared with 26.0% for the euro area, while India surpassed Japan to rank fourth. Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were excluded because of data availability and exchange rate considerations, while Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini were excluded because their currencies are pegged to the rand. Despite the changes, the revised series remain close to the previous measures. The new nominal index has an average daily deviation of 0.1 index points, while the real index indicates slightly greater competitiveness from early 2024 to early 2025.
Source: 2026-09-29South African Reserve Bank
South African Reserve Bank revises effective exchange rate indices, China becomes largest weighted trading partner
The South African Reserve Bank revised the rand’s nominal and real effective exchange rate indices using 2022 to 2024 manufactured goods trade data. China overtook the euro area as the largest weighted trading partner, and the basket expanded from 20 to 23 partners. The revised indices remain broadly aligned with the previous series.