Rand steady in early trade

The rand was steady early on Wednesday, after strengthening the previous day on news that President Cyril Ramaphosa had appointed former central bank governor Tito Mboweni as finance minister.

The rand was 0.03% stronger at 14.55 per dollar at 0700 GMT, having closed in New York at 14.55.

Ramaphosa said on Tuesday that he had accepted former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene’s resignation after Nene admitted to previously undisclosed meetings with the Gupta family, friends of scandal-plagued former president Jacob Zuma.

The rand is expected to trade between 14.40 and 14.70 to the dollar on Wednesday, NKC African Economics wrote in a note.

South Africa-focused investors were awaiting the release of Sacci business confidence data for September, due at 0930 GMT.

In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2026 fell 6 basis points to 9.180%, continuing to fall as the appointment of a new finance minister reduced political uncertainty.