The rand was on the defensive on Thursday morning‚ closing in on the psychological level of R14/$‚ which will mark its weakest point since December.
The local currency has been on a roller-coaster ride since President Jacob Zuma effected unpopular cabinet changes‚ which included the sacking of finance minister Pravin Gordhan‚
The move sparked a barrage of criticism from business‚ labour and civil society groups‚ as well as from individual senior members within ruling ANC party.
Deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa broke with tradition‚ openly disagreeing with the decision to fire Gordhan‚ who was widely regarded as a safe pair of hands for the country’s finances.
But on Wednesday‚ the ANC closed ranks around Zuma‚ who is under pressure to resign following the cabinet reshuffle that has resulted in the country’s foreign currency denominated debt being downgraded to subinvestment grade.
“It was probably only a matter of time before the dissident voices in the high command of the ruling [ANC] party would be subdued and so it came to pass during the ANC extended national working committee meeting‚” NKC analysts said in note.
A weaker rand fans inflation‚ which had been projected to moderate in 2017.
At 9.06am‚ the rand was at R13.8431 to the dollar from Wednesday’s R13.8039‚ R14.7569 to the euro from R14.7409 and R17.2805 to the pound from R17.2492
The euro was at $1.0662 from $1.0678.
-TMG Digital
Rand loses ground‚ heads back towards R14/$
The rand was on the defensive on Thursday morning‚ closing in on the psychological level of R14/$‚ which will mark its weakest point since December.
The local currency has been on a roller-coaster ride since President Jacob Zuma effected unpopular cabinet changes‚ which included the sacking of finance minister Pravin Gordhan‚
The move sparked a barrage of criticism from business‚ labour and civil society groups‚ as well as from individual senior members within ruling ANC party.
Deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa broke with tradition‚ openly disagreeing with the decision to fire Gordhan‚ who was widely regarded as a safe pair of hands for the country’s finances.
But on Wednesday‚ the ANC closed ranks around Zuma‚ who is under pressure to resign following the cabinet reshuffle that has resulted in the country’s foreign currency denominated debt being downgraded to subinvestment grade.
“It was probably only a matter of time before the dissident voices in the high command of the ruling [ANC] party would be subdued and so it came to pass during the ANC extended national working committee meeting‚” NKC analysts said in note.
A weaker rand fans inflation‚ which had been projected to moderate in 2017.
At 9.06am‚ the rand was at R13.8431 to the dollar from Wednesday’s R13.8039‚ R14.7569 to the euro from R14.7409 and R17.2805 to the pound from R17.2492
The euro was at $1.0662 from $1.0678.
-TMG Digital
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos