SOUTH Africa’s rand strengthened on Tuesday, as clarity on the handling of “farmgate” scandal involving President Cyril Ramaphosa and better-than forecast third quarter growth figures brought back some risk appetite among investors.
Ramaphosa gained a lifeline after the ANC said on Monday it would request its lawmakers to reject a report that said he may have violated the constitution.
The report by a panel appointed by the speaker of parliament was due to be debated on Tuesday, but this was delayed to December 13, further easing political tensions.
At 14:00, the rand traded at R17.44 against the dollar.
The risk-sensitive currency has faced turbulence since the report was released as political turmoil at home fuelled investor uncertainty. At one point it fell more than 4% lower against the dollar, before making a recovery.
“The rand is performing better as there is more clarity around how the whole Phala Phala mess will be handled,” said Wichard Cilliers, head of market risk management at TreasuryONE.
“When there was uncertainty around resigning and how the whole situation will be handled, the rand was under pressure.”
Cilliers said the rand was still not out of the woods and is weaker than some emerging market counterparts.
“If it was not for the debacle on this, the rand would probably be trading closer to around R16.80,” he added.
The rand was performing better as the markets were calmed when the ruling party backed Ramaphosa, forestalling the risk of further political fallout.
Investec analyst Annabel Bishop said strong GDP figures also buoyed the rand.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major rivals, was last up 0.02% at 105.25.
The government’s benchmark 2030 bond was marginally lower, with the yield up 2 basis points to 10.625%.
REUTERS
