The rand sank to a record low on Thursday after the statement by the South African Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee and subsequent comments by the governor painted a bleak picture for the currency. The currency's latest slide came after the committee raised its key repo rate by 50 basis points.

The statement of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Thursday struck a hawkish note -- the SA Reserve Bank is clearly concerned about the rand's recent meltdown and persistent price pressures.

"Tighter global financial conditions raise the risk profiles of economies needing foreign capital, leading generally to weaker currencies. Given upside inflation risks, larger domestic and external financing needs, and load shedding, further currency weakness appears likely," the statement said.

That's not exactly a vote of confidence in the rand, and when there's blood in the water, the sharks will circle. And the rand was vulnerable as it had been sinking throughout the day, matching its previous record low of 19.51/US dollar.

It then clawed back to 19.45/dollar after the 50 basis point hike was announced, but went into free fall after Governor Lesetja Kganyago admitted during the subsequent Q&A session with the media that "the exchange rate is not one of the factors that they [central banks] control ... We cannot stop the currency from depreciating."

The governor was referring to the point that intervention in the currency market produced limited returns. The example he used was the 1998 debacle when the SA Reserve Bank attempted to do so...