The rand retained its weaker bias against major currencies on Tuesday afternoon, after slightly worse-than-expected current-account data and elevated political risk. Analysts said trading in the local unit would likely be volatile this week, driven by sentiment due to the absence of significant data releases. "The current view is a bit more negative than a week ago and could result in some rand weakness," TreasuryOne analysts said. The local unit lost almost 2% on Monday after Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane said the Reserve Bank must change its mandate from protecting the value of the rand to protecting the socio-economic status of SA’s citizens. It has also been on a weaker footing since the release last week of a revised Mining Charter, which includes more stringent requirements for black ownership and has prompted warnings of lower investment. SA’s current-account deficit widened slightly in the first quarter‚ to 2.1% of GDP from 1.7% in the last quarter of 2016, the Bank sa...
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