The rand got to an intra-day best level of R12.34 to the dollar on Wednesday‚ before giving back some of its gains by mid-afternoon‚ when settling just a few cents firmer than Tuesday’s close.
Prior to the sacking of former finance minister Pravin Gordhan at the end of March‚ the rand had been trading at about R12.31 to the dollar. It slumped over the next three days to end that month at R13.42.
The Sunday Times reported over the weekend that “secret talks” were underway for a negotiated exit for President Jacob Zuma. The rand firmed in response to the news.
At 3.02pm‚ the rand was at R12.4501 to the dollar from Tuesday’s R12.504‚ at R14.808 to the euro from R14.8291‚ and at R16.7186 to the pound from R16.7216.
The euro was at $1.1894 from $1.1858.
The rand has now gained more than 9% since the beginning of December‚ with gains accelerating in the lead up to and during the ANC elective conference‚ once it became evident that Cyril Ramaphosa would be elected as the organisation’s new president.
By: Andrew Linder – BusinessLIVE
Source: TMG Digital.
