The rand perked up on Thursday morning‚ pushing through the psychological level of R13 to the dollar‚ ahead of the Constitutional Court’s ruling on a secret ballot.
Opposition parties led by the UDM approached SA’s highest court asking that the motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma be voted on via secret ballot.
The no-confidence motion follows Zuma’s controversial Cabinet reshuffle in March‚ which shook sentiment‚ reflected in a weaker rand and local bonds.
"The will probably declare‚ in their ruling today‚ that a secret ballot is permissible but not compulsory in a parliamentary vote on the no-confidence motion‚" Rand Merchant Bank currency strategist John Cairns said in a note.
"This middle-of-the-line ruling would be neutral to negative for the market: it is the widely expected outcome but would all but kill any possibility of a secret vote given the speaker’s political affiliations."
Local politics has been a major driver of the rand this week‚ after Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane controversially recommended changes to constitutional mandate of the Reserve Bank‚ which is highly regarded by the rating agencies and markets alike.
"It’s been quite a roller-coaster ride on the rand. Unfortunately the moves have not been driven by fundamental economic factors‚ but once again led by politicians and government officials‚" Kaon Capital CE Luke Alers said.
At 9.25am‚ the rand was at R12.9888 to the dollar‚ from R13.0828. It was at R14.5013 to the euro from R14.6094 and at R16.4529 to the pound from R16.5793.
The euro was at $1.1165 from $1.1168.
Rand perks up ahead of Constitutional Court ruling on secret ballot
Opposition parties led by the UDM approached SA’s highest court asking that the motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma be voted on via secret ballot.
The no-confidence motion follows Zuma’s controversial Cabinet reshuffle in March‚ which shook sentiment‚ reflected in a weaker rand and local bonds.
"The will probably declare‚ in their ruling today‚ that a secret ballot is permissible but not compulsory in a parliamentary vote on the no-confidence motion‚" Rand Merchant Bank currency strategist John Cairns said in a note.
"This middle-of-the-line ruling would be neutral to negative for the market: it is the widely expected outcome but would all but kill any possibility of a secret vote given the speaker’s political affiliations."
Local politics has been a major driver of the rand this week‚ after Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane controversially recommended changes to constitutional mandate of the Reserve Bank‚ which is highly regarded by the rating agencies and markets alike.
"It’s been quite a roller-coaster ride on the rand. Unfortunately the moves have not been driven by fundamental economic factors‚ but once again led by politicians and government officials‚" Kaon Capital CE Luke Alers said.
At 9.25am‚ the rand was at R12.9888 to the dollar‚ from R13.0828. It was at R14.5013 to the euro from R14.6094 and at R16.4529 to the pound from R16.5793.
The euro was at $1.1165 from $1.1168.
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