Budget: Rand weakens ahead of budget speech
South Africa’s Rand weakened ahead of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's budget speech on Wednesday.
The latest indicators on Wednesday morning showed that the Rand was at R18.40 to the US Dollar, 0.32% weaker than the previous day.
Reuters reported on Tuesday morning that South Africa's Rand weakened early on in the day against a buoyant dollar, ahead of unemployment data that was released on Tuesday afternoon and the national budget speech on Wednesday.
Reuters added that the rand traded at 18.47 against the U.S. dollar, about 0.5% weaker than its previous close.
The dollar last traded about 0.2% firmer against a basket of currencies.
Reuters further reported on Tuesday afternoon that the Rand edged lower against a dollar, ahead of a highly anticipated national budget speech.
“At 1503 GMT, the Rand traded at 18.4075 against the U.S. dollar, 0.15% weaker than its previous close. The dollar last traded about 0.22% firmer against a basket of currencies. Domestic investor attention will be on the national budget presentation by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on Wednesday.”
Business Report reported on Tuesday that the rate of unemployment in South Africa eased slightly in the three months to the end of December, buoyed by increasing jobs in the finance and manufacturing sectors.
Data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Tuesday showed that the official unemployment rate fell by 0.2 percentage points from 32.1% in the third quarter to 31.9% in the fourth quarter.
BUSINESS REPORT