Rand stages recovery after Lesetja Kganyago appointed new SARB Governor

By
Font size: Decrease font Enlarge font
Rand strengthened against major currencies on Monday after the appointment of Lesetja Kganyago to the position of South African Reserve Bank Governor. Rand strengthened against major currencies on Monday after the appointment of Lesetja Kganyago to the position of South African Reserve Bank Governor.

The appointment of Lesetja Kganyago as the new Reserve Bank governor added a positive tone to the market, with the rand staging recovery at midday on Monday as the rally in the dollar eased.

The South African Rand strengthened against major currencies on Monday after President Jacob Zuma announced the appointment of Lesetja Kganyago to the position of Central Bank Governor.

"It is way to early to say the worst is over for the rand. The dollar is still in the ascendancy on global markets. But for the moment, it’s taking a breather," Bidvest Bank chief currency dealer Ion de Vleeschauwer said.

The rand fell to lows of R11.3782 on Friday after a better than expected US nonfarm payrolls report.

At 12.03pm, the rand was at R11.2902 against the dollar following its Friday close of R11.3514.

Against the euro, the rand was at R14.1621 from a previous close of R14.2014 and was at R18.0310 against the pound from R18.1174 previously.

The euro was at $1.2544 from $1.2509 on Friday.

Mr Kganyago is set to take up the post on November 9, replacing former governor Gill Marcus who is retiring.

Marcus governed during a challenging time for the domestic and global economy. She took over in 2009, as international markets were reeling from the global financial crisis and advanced country economies were in recession.

She steered the local economy through a downturn in 2009. For most of her term, the central bank’s monetary policy committee was on a loosening path, with the repo rate falling between 2009 and 2012 from 10.5 percent to 5 percent. The central bank then went on a tightening path from January this year, raising the repo rate to 5.5 percent then 5.75 percent in July 2014.


NEWSLETTER — GET THE LATEST NEWS IN YOUR INBOX. SIGN UP RIGHT HERE.


Enter your e-mail address below using Lowercase.



Home in 1 | Leading Supplier to Events, Catering & Hospitality Industry