JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s rand gained against a weaker dollar on Tuesday, before the country’s budget speech and a meeting between President Cyril Ramaphosa and U.S. President Donald Trump.
At 1522 GMT, the rand traded at 17.9475 against the dollar, roughly up 1% on Monday’s closing level.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will try to pass a budget for the third time on Wednesday, after his previous two attempts failed to gain support of some coalition partners over plans to increase tax.
“The uncertainties we have had regarding the domestic budget and the coalition government are all beginning to settle, so the rand is gaining from that,” said Johann Els, a chief economist at Old Mutual, adding that the bulk of the rand’s valuation is because of a weaker U.S. dollar.
The greenback last traded about 0.2% weaker against a basket of currencies as investors faced uncertainty over Trump’s tariff policies and the potential for a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire.
The South African delegation arrived in Washington on Monday to hold talks with Trump’s administration in a bid to reset strained ties between the nations. The meeting between the two heads of state is planned for Wednesday.
On the local bourse, the Top-40 index was last up about 0.3%
South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was stronger, with the yield down 2 basis points at 8.86%.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya and Sfundo ParakozovEditing by Ros Russell and Deepa Babington)
