Rand shines in critical week for South Africa
JOHANNESBURG – The rand traded firmer against the dollar in a critical week for South Africa as the Medium-term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) and a credit rating review by Moody’s Investors Service will determine the road ahead for the economy.
“The main risk event will be the MTBPS. Should the statement paint a gloomy picture of the South African economy, the rand will be in the direct firing line,” said senior research analyst at FXTM C.
The Minister of Finance, Tito Mboweni, is set to use his MTBPS to assure the market and ratings agencies that the government is firmly in control of its funds.
Herschel Jawitz, the chief executive of Jawitz Properties, said yesterday that the MTBPS would be a key indicator of not only the country’s current financial position, which was expected to be dire, but also the government’s resolve to deal with the critical issues that need to be fixed.
“The current state of both business investment and consumer spending is a crisis of confidence in the government and not of opportunity or affordability,” he said.
Source: iol.co.za
