South Africa’s rand steady after boost from #Mugabe’s resignation

South Africa’s rand steadied against the dollar early on Wednesday, staying below the 14/$ mark breached in the previous session, thanks to a peaceful political transition in neighbouring Zimbabwe.

* At 0627 GMT, the rand traded at 13.9725 per dollar, compared with its overnight close of 13.9700.

* “The rand continues to trade cautiously, although it has managed to breach below the 14.0000 handle, the technical objective on the downside around 13.8500, the firmer bias being partly attributed to the changes in the political landscape by our northern neighbours,” Nedbank analysts wrote in a note, referring to Zimbabwe.

* Robert Mugabe resigned as Zimbabwe’s president on Tuesday, a week after the army and his former political allies moved to end four decades of rule.

* Investors are nervous ahead of S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s reviews on Friday.

* Statistics South Africa will publish October CPI data on Wednesday, while the South African Reserve Bank will announce its last interest rates decision for the year on Thursday.

* In fixed income, the yield for the benchmark government bond due in 2026 was down 1.5 basis points to 9.43 percent. Reuters