The rand was firmer against the dollar on Friday afternoon amid speculation that a Cabinet reshuffle by President Cyril Ramaphosa was imminent.Although a reshuffle will present Ramaphosa with the opportunity to remove inefficient ministers, expectations are that he will proceed cautiously, as the newly-elected president seeks to consolidate his authority in the ANC and the government.The local currency also continued to find support from the easing of fears of further downgrades of SA’s sovereign debt rating.On Thursday, the Treasury said all three major global ratings agencies had given positive feedback on the tabling of the budget earlier this week.Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking analysts said they expect the rand to hit R11.30/$ following Wednesday’s budget.Over the short-term rand weakness on the approach to 12/$ could fade in the first quarter of 2018, but the rand was expected to trade closer to R12.50–R13/$ at the end of 2018, Nedbank said.At 3pm the rand was at R11...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.