South Africa's local currency, the rand is slightly weaker against the greenback in early trade, with analysts attributing the weakness to a drop in metal prices. The dramatic decline of gold, platinum, and other industrial metals over the last two days has been the primary factor undermining the local currency. Bullion prices fell to a level that was more than two weeks lower due to profit-taking and an easing of worries over the Middle East conflict. It is currently trading at 19-rand-19 to the dollar or 0.99 to the dollar. Chief Economist, Dr. Azar Jammine spoke to Thami Ngbeni.