The Rand was established as the official South African currency on 14 February 1961. When the rand debuted it traded at 72 cents to the dollar. In 1994, political uncertainty surrounding the new government in the country saw the rand weaken to an average R3.55 versus the dollar. In 2001, the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre caused the rand to skyrocket to R13.84 to the dollar. On Monday the 24th of August 2015 a single trade occurred at R14.07 to the dollar but bounced back immediately at R13.31. The rate of R13.84 is still widely regarded as the rand’s all time lowest against the dollar. (http://bit.ly/1NJX5To, http://bit.ly/1KRNmYa)

This week’s theme: Money