Cabinet reshuffle speculation hits rand

THE RAND weakened yesterday, dragged lower by renewed speculation that President Jacob Zuma might reshuffle his cabinet, a move that could remove Pravin Gordhan as finance minister.

At 5pm, the rand was bid at R13.5805 to the dollar, 11.12c softer than at the same time on Friday. It had reached a low of R13.6875 earlier, after rumours on Friday that top ministers might be sacked hit demand for the currency and for local bonds.

In court documents yesterday, Gordhan accused the Gupta brothers, a trio of wealthy businessmen with ties to Zuma, of carrying out an “organised campaign” against him and the Treasury.

Meanwhile, bonds were weaker yesterday, with the benchmark bond due in 2026 adding climbing.