Ramaphosa’s impeachment inquiry suspended, and Dis-Chem founder resigns in South Africa
The rand fell on Thursday after the central bank unexpectedly decided to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged, surprising financial markets that had anticipated an increase.
The rand was trading at 16.7125 against the dollar, approximately 1.9% weaker than its previous close and close to its lowest point against the US currency in two months.
Investors and economists had expected the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to tighten monetary policy due to inflation exceeding its 3% target, which reached 5% year-on-year in June.
However, SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago conveyed a less aggressive stance than anticipated at a press conference, stating that the current policy is restrictive enough.
The bank also revised its inflation forecast for this year down to 4.0% from a previous estimate of 4.4%.
Following the rate decision, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange managed to reduce its losses.
The All-Share Index was last down 0.8%, having been down about 1.8% before the announcement was made.
On Saturday, 25 July 2026, the rand was trading at R16.83 to the dollar, R22.43 to the pound, and R19.14 to the euro. Gold is trading at $4,052.88 an ounce, while oil prices were at $96.78 a barrel.
5 important things happening today
Ramaphosa’s impeachment inquiry suspended: A South African court has suspended a parliamentary inquiry into whether President Cyril Ramaphosa should face impeachment for his management of a theft at his wildlife ranch. [Bloomberg]
Dis-Chem founder resigns: Dis-Chem has announced that its founder, Ivan Saltzman, has resigned from his position as a non-executive director at the company, fully retiring after 48 years at the group. [BusinessTech]
Eskom plans to use R343 billion over five years: Eskom plans to spend around R343 billion over the next five years in capital and operational expenditure as part of its new domestic bond programme.[BusinessDay]
PIC Chair steps down: Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has accepted the resignation of David Masondo, Chair of the Public Investment Corporation Board. Masondo stepped down on Thursday to support the PIC’s stability and maintain public confidence. [EWN]
PlayStation faces major outage: PlayStation users around the globe have encountered issues logging into Sony’s servers and launching various games as their weekends commence. [MyBroadband]
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