The British pound to South African Rand (Currency:ZAR) exchange rate is currently a hefty 1.8 pct higher at 15.7935 at 10:30 in London. These are impressive levels for South African Rand buyers - indeed, such levels have not been seen since back in 2008.

A look at the ZAR crosses shows:

The pound to South African Rand exchange rate is 1.8 pct higher at 15.7932.
The euro to South African Rand exchange rate is 2 pct higher at 13.4442.
The US dollar to South African Rand is 2 pct higher at 10.1707.

NB: The above are wholesale market quotes - your bank will affix a discretionary spread when transacting your money. However, an independent FX provider will guarantee to undercut your bank's offer, thus delivering you more currency. Please find out more here.

The question now is can the GBP-ZAR reach the high point of 17.501 attained in that same year?

For now the technical outlook suggests yes this is possible purely based on the fact that there is nothing on the technical charts suggesting that upward momentum is running out of steam.

The South African Rand has today been hit by the same pressures afflicting the Australian dollar - Weak Chinese data has set a negative tone for the likes of ZAR and AUD at the start of the second week of June.

A number of commentators are suggesting that fears over Nelson Mandela's health are a contributing factor to the latest bout of ZAR selling - however we believe that this has very little explanatory relevance to a currency that is at present highly vulnerable to sustained selling momentum.

Expect more of the same for now.