The rand strengthened against major global currencies on Tuesday afternoon, breaking through R14 to the dollar, on positive sentiment that the prosecution of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan might not come to much, as he gains further support. At 3.32pm, the rand was at R13.9484 to the dollar from Monday’s R14.1425. It was at R15.3257 to the euro from R15.5555 and R17.1463 to the pound from R17.2259. The euro was at $1.0987 from $1.1000 previously. Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop said last week foreigners had sold a net R14.5bn of South African assets on concern over the charges facing Gordhan. On Monday, however, foreigners bought a net R1.8bn of bonds and equities. RMB Global Markets analyst Isaah Mhlanga said the rand’s gains looked solid, but he questioned their sustainability. Mhlanga said currency strength was driven by global moves, dominated by weakness in the dollar, and that only time would tell if they were "sustainable".
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