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The rand was slightly firmer on Thursday morning as the market awaited further clarity on President Jacob Zuma’s expected resignation.
Business Day reported that Zuma wanted to say goodbye to the Cabinet and address the nation before resigning.
The rand has weakened above R12 to the dollar again amid a lack of progress by the ANC’s top six to facilitate Zuma’s exit. A turnaround in the dollar also prevented further gains from materialising.
“A combination of local politics and a resurgent dollar has seen the rand once again fail to post any new gains,” analysts at Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) said.
At 8.56am the rand was at R12.046 to the dollar from R12.0701, at R14.7730 to the euro from R14.8039 and at R16.7288 to the pound from R16.7515.
The euro was at $1.2263 from $1.2266.
The dollar gained on a renewed sell-off in US bonds as the Dow closed flat in choppy trade.
Dow Jones Newswires said the dollar also rose after Senate leaders announced a two-year budget agreement that allayed the concern that a partisan stalemate could lead to a government shutdown or a debt default. – BusinessLive
Bongani Ndlovu