Rand slides as Gordhan’s trip is cut short
Agricultural futures
THE RAND retreated against the dollar yesterday after Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was asked by President Jacob Zuma to return early from an investor roadshow abroad, sparking talk of an imminent cabinet reshuffle.
At 5pm, the rand was bid at R12.7425 to the dollar, 27.60c softer than at the same time on Friday.
The unit fell to 11-day lows before regaining some ground as talk of a cabinet reshuffle was revived after Gordhan was told to skip the US leg of the investor roadshow.
“The currency, bond market as well as financial stocks here in South Africa have reacted negatively in anticipation that a cabinet shuffle is imminent,” said BNP Paribas Cadiz Securities economist, Jeffrey Schultz.
In fixed income, government bonds weakened. SOUTH Africa’s maize stocks dropped 33 percent at the end of February from a year ago, the SA Grain Information Service said on its website yesterday.
The country had 1.92 million tons then. That compares with 2.86 million tons a year earlier.
The end of February stocks included 1.04m tons of the white type and 877 029 tons of the yellow variety.
Meanwhile, wheat for delivery in May declined 0.5 percent at $4.22 a bushel (R1 927 a ton) on the Chicago Board of Trade in early trade yesterday. – Bloomberg