JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s rand strengthened on Tuesday as the country’s two biggest political parties said they were not walking away from the coalition government and were open to further talks to try to resolve a bitter dispute over the budget.
At 1424 GMT, the rand traded at 19.52 against the dollar, 0.7% firmer on the day after falling about 2.7% on Monday.
The African National Congress (ANC) and Democratic Alliance (DA) failed to agree on the budget despite weeks of negotiations, leading to the DA voting against it in parliament and challenging it in court.
Rattled investors have worried that the pro-business DA could quit the Government of National Unity or be forced to exit by a faction in the ANC angered by the DA’s stance.
But the ANC said on Tuesday that it was committed to the multiparty government formed last year. The DA said it was not giving up on the coalition either and wanted to discuss power-sharing with the ANC.
As well as the turbulent local political backdrop, the risk-sensitive rand has been caught up in the global market turmoil stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff plans.
The domestic data calendar is relatively light this week. One of the few releases expected is manufacturing output on Thursday.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Top-40 index was last up about 2.3%. The benchmark 2030 government bond gained, as the yield fell 19.5 basis points to 9.18%.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov; Editing by Alexander Winning and Alex Richardson)
