Rand strengthens quickly after Zuma backtracks on finance minister decision

The rand strengthened rapidly following President Jacob Zuma’s announcement that Pravin Gordhan is replacing David van Rooyen as minister of finance.

The Presidency issued a statement on Sunday confirming the appointment, with Zuma saying that he has received many representations to reconsider his decision.

“As a democratic government, we emphasise the importance of listening to the people and to respond to their views,” the Presidency said in a statement.

On Wednesday 9 December Zuma announced the removal of Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene from the Finance portfolio in Cabinet, which saw the rand plummeting to its lowest levels in history.

On Friday 11 December the rand broke through R16 to the US Dollar, without showing signs of recovering.

However, this trend was reversed on Sunday after Gordhan was reappointed as finance minister. The rand moved from around R16 to below R15 per US Dollar.

The following chart shows the quick strengthening of the rand on Sunday evening, following Zuma’s announcement.

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