Political leader accused of poisoning his party from within, and Gauteng spending R269 million on an app
The rand weakened slightly on Friday as markets digested the Reserve Bank’s decision to hike interest rates amid growing expectations that rates will remain higher.
The rand traded at 16.40 to the dollar on Friday, roughly 0.3% down from its previous close.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) raised the country’s interest rate by 25 basis points, citing “large and sustained” price shocks that require tighter monetary policy.
SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago said it was crucial for inflation to return to the central bank’s 3% target as recent fuel-price pressures fade.
As South Africa is a net fuel importer, it is heavily affected by changes in global oil prices.
The dollar was set for its first back-to-back weekly gains in more than three months, as surging Treasury yields and mounting bets on further rate hikes from the Federal Reserve kept the greenback near multi-month peaks.
In South Africa, investors will be eyeing several key economic indicators over the next week, including money supply, private sector credit, the trade balance and the budget balance, as well as producer inflation and second-quarter formal sector employment figures.
The country’s benchmark 2035 government bond was steady in early deals on Friday, with the yield unchanged at 8.72%. [Reuters]
On Saturday, 26 September 2026, the rand was trading at R16.29 to the dollar, R21.60 to the pound, and R18.57 to the euro. Gold is trading at $4,285.29, while oil prices were at $104.30 a barrel.
5 important things
Political leader accused of poisoning his party from within: Freedom Front Plus’ mayoral candidate in Tshwane, Willie Spies, has accused former caucus leader Grandi Theunissen of poisoning the party from within. [Newsday]
Gauteng spending R269 million for app downloaded 15,000 times in 10 months: The Gauteng Department of e-Government has revealed that the total contract value of the Gauteng e-Panic button service is R269 million. [MyBroadband]
Hidden forces boosting South Africa’s rand: South Africa is likely to emerge as an unexpected beneficiary of global trends, which will bring to an end the era of the rand’s consistent weakness against the US dollar. [DailyInvestor]
Electoral Court dismisses MK Party’s bid to set aside 2024 election results: The court dismissed an application from the uMkhonto WeSizwe Party after it claimed it was robbed of votes following a leaderboard blackout at the national results operations centre. [EWN]
R3 per litre pain for petrol prices in October: The under-recovery for petrol prices in South Africa has hit the R3-per-litre mark, setting motorists up for almost R30 per litre at the pump in October. [BusinessTech]
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