Political tension this week, which culminated in the firing of Pravin Gordhan as finance minister, helped other emerging-market currencies gain while the rand lost ground sharply against the dollar. The rand was the best-performing emerging-market currency until a week ago, gaining at least 10% against the dollar and fanning hopes that, if the rally continued, a cut in domestic interest rates was likely this year. But then the rand plummeted over 8% this week after President Jacob Zuma suddenly recalled Gordhan from an investor road show in London, fuelling speculation that he was about to fire South Africa's third finance minister in nearly two years, which he did on Thursday night. As turbulence knocked the rand to seventh place among emerging-market best performers this week, currency traders seeking higher yield diverted to Russia's rouble, pushing the rand to its worst week since June. Traders had gained about 11% in returns on the rouble so far this year, Bloomberg reported on...
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.