Rand gains 1% after Minister Mboweni’s budget speech

The rand has gained one percent after Finance Minister Tito Mboweni made his budget speech on Wednesday.

The markets have reacted positively to his budget adjustments. Especially positive has been the corporate tax decrease announcements made by the Minister and additional COVID-19 support and vaccine funding.

The rand is currently trading at R14.44 from R14.53 in earlier trade.

The Minister expresses optimism about the country’s economic recovery, saying the South African economy is expected to bounce back by 3.3% this year. This follows a contraction of 7.2% last year which was fuelled by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Global economic growth is expected to rebound to 5.5% in 2021 before moderating slightly to 4.2% in 2022 sped on by the expected rollout of COVID-19 vaccines across the world. Sub-Saharan Africa is forecast to grow by 3.2%. The South African economy is expected to rebound by 3.3 percent this year.”

Minister Mboweni’s Budget Speech: 

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Source: SABC News (sabcnews.com)