JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand fell on Thursday as investors became cautious over newly elected President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet appointments as part of a unity government.
At 15:21 GMT, the rand was trading at 18.0625 per dollar, about 0.6% weaker than the previous close. The rand weakened by more than 1% against the dollar earlier in the day.
“Today’s depreciation may suggest some profit-taking in the rand as markets remain cautious ahead of President-elect Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet appointments,” Shaun Murison, senior market analyst at IG, told Reuters.
He added that the rand’s long-term dynamics appear to point to further gains.
The local currency strengthened to a nearly 11-month high of 17.9200 on Wednesday after five political parties joined the African National Congress last week to form a government of national unity after it lost its absolute majority in general elections.
The dollar also gained against a basket of currencies on Thursday, “so the weakening of the rand can be partly attributed to macro factors rather than purely local factors,” Murison said.
On the stock market, the Top-40 index closed with a decline of 0.72%.
South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker, with the yield rising 4 basis points to 9.785%.
