The rand was firmer against the dollar on Monday afternoon‚ despite the greenback being given a boost by US politics‚ while domestic focus remained squarely on the ANC succession race.
The ANC’s NEC is currently meeting in Pretoria‚ with reports that efforts may be underway to forge a unity ticket ahead of what could be a highly divisive conference in December.
The outcome of elective conferences by ANC structures in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo are expected on Monday or Tuesday‚ with analysts saying it appeared the party’s deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa was the favourite at a national level.
TreasuryOne one dealer Andre Botha said the rand could trade higher until given new impetus by the market‚ with the key release that of US nonfarm payrolls numbers on Friday.
The dollar‚ and risk-on trade‚ was given a boost at the weekend‚ after the US Senate passed the long-awaited tax reform bill.
In addition to this‚ markets were also relieved that a guilty plea by President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser may not have proved as politically damaging as initially feared‚ said BK Asset Management analysts.
On Friday‚ Trump’s former campaign official Mike Flynn had admitted he misled the FBI about calls he had in 2016 with the then-Russian ambassador‚ regarding sanctions imposed on Russia.
At 3pm the rand was at R13.6576 to the dollar from R13.7629‚ at R16.193 to the euro from R16.3276 and at R18.4534 to the pound from R18.4937.
The euro was at $1.1855 from $1.1860.
- BusinessLIVE
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