The rand pushed to its best level to the dollar in just more than a week on Wednesday afternoon after retail sales outstripped expectations, suggesting that the economy could be turning. Retail sales grew at an annual rate of 2.9% in June, its fastest pace since November, from 1.6% in May, according to Statistics SA data. But Kaon Capital CEO, Luke Alers, still expects the local economy to punch below its weight amid political uncertainty in the build-up to the ANC’s conference in December. The ruling party will elect a new leader to replace Jacob Zuma, whose term as the party leader comes to an end in December. Zuma is scheduled to step down as the country’s president in 2019. The rand has increasingly become sensitive to political news since at least late 2015 when Zuma fired then finance minister Nhlanhla Nene in a Cabinet shuffle, unleashing a storm of protest from various quarters, including business. The unceremonious Cabinet changes — more recently, Pravin Gordhan was also fi...
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