South African Assets Tumble as Ramaphosa's Growth Pledge Palls
- Rand weakens with bonds as economy shrinks in first quarter
- Banks, retailers drop amid concern over economic outlook
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The rand weakened, yields on benchmark bonds rose and retail and banking stocks fell as a report showed that South Africa’s economy shrank the most in nine years in the first quarter, casting a pall over President Cyril Ramaphosa’s promise to boost growth.
Ramaphosa, who replaced Jacob Zuma in February, has pledged measures to fuel the economy, boost employment and attract investment after four years in which output never managed to expand more than 2 percent annually. But the latest data show he has a mountain to climb: gross domestic product contracted an annualized 2.2 percent in the first quarter of the year compared with the prior three months.