South African rand slips on stronger dollar, local election vote count advances

Business Recorder reported that the South African rand fell 0.3% to 16.5275 per US dollar by 0655 GMT on Friday, as the greenback strengthened. The move came while ballots from this week’s municipal elections were still being tallied.

With 72% of votes counted, the African National Congress had received about 32%, compared with 46% in the 2021 municipal elections; the Democratic Alliance was near 24%. The dollar rose more than 0.3% against a basket of currencies, while South Africa’s 2035 government bond yield increased 4.5 basis points to 8.33%. Business Research Bureau chief economist Lisette IJssel de Schepper said attention was on whether the vote would bring more stable city administrations, improved services and a stronger business environment.