Rand heads towards R15/$ as pressure on Nhlanhla Nene mounts

The rand headed towards R15/$ for the first time in three weeks on Monday as pressure mounted on finance minister Nhlanhla Nene to quit after admitting to meeting the controversial Gupta family. Nene was giving testimony at the commission of inquiry into state capture last week. Business Day reported on Monday that Nene had asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to relieve him of his duties following the public outcry after his Zondo commission testimony. “With medium-term budget speech just around the corner, the timing is not ideal. We need stability in order to sort out the ailing fiscus,” said Wichard Cilliers, head of dealing and director at TreasuryOne. “The ANC is very much still reeling from the maladministration caused by our previous president. The ANC has still got plenty of work ahead of them.” The rand and local bonds also bore the brunt of a strong dollar, which stood tall against virtually every other currency. Upbeat US economic data is fuelling the expectation that the US ...