President Donald Trump’s rapid-fire trade war has set in motion a commercial rupture without precedent, which is rippling through the global economy in unpredictable and costly ways. The triple-digit taxes that the president has imposed on Chinese products — and China’s retaliatory measures — are expected to shrink trade between the world’s two largest economies from a recent annual peak of nearly $700 billion to almost nothing.

The South African rand strengthened on Monday, boosted by a news report that the country's biggest political party may back down on a plan to raise value-added tax (VAT) and dollar weakness on global markets.

President Trump paused his plan to increase tariffs on countries around the world, with the exception of China, a dramatic reversal after days of market turmoil that led to a surge of relief on Wall Street.