Rand in Significant Slide

Alert! In the past several weeks, South Africa’s currency, the rand, has depreciated to a fairly significant extent, sliding from R5.90 to the dollar to R6.50.

This is good news for tourists with dollars, of course (the decline against the euro and pound has been less steep). Meanwhile, economists tracking the rand’s medium-term outlook seem to favor a continued, if gentle, decline, to about R7:$1.

• Best live exchange rate site: XE.com.