Rand may not be done after the biggest gains since Ramaphosa won ANC presidency

The rand’s recovery, which saw it on Friday post the biggest gain since the December 2017 ANC conference that propelled Cyril Ramaphosa to the presidency, has more legs in it despite lingering concerns about the country’s economic and fiscal outlook. 

SA’s currency, often a barometer of investor sentiment towards emerging markets due to its status as being among the most easily traded, jumped 3.6% last week as global central banks struck a dovish tone on interest rates. Most of its gains came after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled a policy shift that may see near record-low policy rates well into the future. His counterpart at the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, told the Fed’s annual policy symposium on Friday that he may consider negative rates.