Rand plunges as Zuma orders Gordhan to return from overseas investor trip
President Jacob Zuma says Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s investor trip to the UK and US is unauthorised
The rand reversed its strong early-morning gains on Monday at midday following a report that President Jacob Zuma recalled Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan from an investor trip to the UK and US. Gordhan lead a government, business and labour delegation on a post-budget road show to international investors and ratings agencies. According to the reports, Zuma stated that the visit was "unauthorised." The rand lost 35c against the dollar in a matter of an hour after the news became known. It earlier firmed to R12.3115, a fresh 20-month high. At 11.30am the rand was at R12.62.04 to the dollar from a previous close of R12.42. It weakened to R12.6665 in intraday trade. The rand was at R13.6965 against the euro from R13.4748 and at R15.8547 against the pound from R15.5229. The euro was at $1.0855 from $1.0838. A trader said the rand weakness was directly attributable to the Gordhan news. "We will have to see how things pan out from here." The earlier bout of the rand strength was partly du...
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