South African rand strengthens in early trade

Date:

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand edged higher early on Tuesday, as optimism around prospects of a U.S.-China trade deal outweighed worries over struggling state power utility Eskom and an upcoming budget speech.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

At 0657 GMT, the rand traded at 14.7250 versus the dollar, 0.3% stronger than its previous close.

Government bonds were little changed, with the yield on the benchmark 2026 bond up less than 1 basis point at 8.28%.

China and the United States have achieved some progress in their trade talks, Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said on Tuesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump sounded upbeat on a trade deal on Monday.

Those comments helped boost appetite for emerging market assets, like those in South Africa.

But Bianca Botes, treasury partner at Peregrine Treasury Solutions, said uncertainty over Eskom and next week’s mid-term budget statement were capping gains for the rand.

South Africa-focused investors want to see government make progress on restructuring Eskom and containing the budget deficit.

Officials have said they will announce a new chief executive for Eskom this month and publish a paper outlining plans to reform the utility.

Reporting by Alexander Winning; editing by Uttaresh.V

Naija247news
Naija247newshttps://www.naija247news.com/
Naija247news is an investigative news platform that tracks news on Nigerian Economy, Business, Politics, Financial and Africa and Global Economy.

Share post:

Subscribe

Popular

More like this
Related

Kaduna Governor Advocates for State Police Amidst Banditry Challenges

Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, emphasized the urgent need...

EFCC Retrieves 324 Houses for Kano Pensioners in Alleged N4.1 Billion Property Fraud

Yesterday, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) handed...

“More CBN Directors Face Dismissal Amidst Controversy”

Twelve additional directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria...

NNPCL’s Kyari to Feature Prominently at 2024 CERAWeek Conference

Mr. Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of...

Discover more from Naija247news

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading