The rand held broadly steady on Monday morning, showing little reaction to the ANC’s January 8 statement, which was delivered at the weekend.Newly elected party leader Cyril Ramaphosa hit the right notes during his speech, pledging policy that would boost investor confidence and stabilise state-owned enterprises, which have been plagued by allegations of corruption.But the rand hardly budged following the speech, suggesting that the good news of the Ramaphosa victory was discounted.The value of the local currency increased sharply in December in the lead-up to, and after, the governing party’s elective conference. But since then, the rand has tapered off.This is despite the sharp weakness in the dollar, which has been one of the main themes since the start of the new year.Rand Merchant Bank currency strategist John Cairns said in an e-mailed note that the recent strength in the rand was overdone, hence the current sideways movement.The outcome of the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy c...
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