Over R500 in taxes for a tank of petrol, and South African company owned by an American billionaire’s daughter
The rand remains weak, investors digest stronger-than-expected trade balance data while also taking cues from global market sentiment.
On Friday, the rand traded at R16.5950 against the dollar, about 0.6% down from its previous close.
Data from the South African Revenue Service showed the country recorded a trade surplus of R17.75 billion ($1.07 billion) in June, far exceeding analysts’ forecast of a R3.45 billion surplus and signalling resilience in the external sector.
“Going forward, rising petroleum imports and exchange-rate volatility continue to present upside risks to the import bill, which is likely to limit the extent of any improvement in the trade balance in the near term,” Investec economist Lara Hodes said.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was last up about 0.3%, recovering some ground after reported dollar-selling intervention by authorities in Japan and South Korea weighed on the greenback on Thursday.
Like other emerging market currencies, the rand is sensitive to global risk sentiment, developments in U.S. monetary policy and domestic economic data.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index was down about 1.1%. South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond was steady, with the yield unchanged at 8.615%.
On Sunday, 02 August, 2026, the rand was trading at R16.56 to the dollar, R22.32 to the pound, and R19.10 to the euro. Gold is trading at $4,041.18 an ounce, while oil prices were at $87.93 a barrel. [Reuters]
5 Important Things Happening in South Africa
Over R500 less for petrol: South African motorists could be paying far less for petrol if the Road Accident Fund and the general fuel levies were removed. One would save R508 per tank for a petrol-powered car with 80-litre tanks without these taxes. [MyBroadband]
Video game company owned by a billionaire: 24Bit Games is owned by Megan Ellison, the daughter of American billionaire Larry Ellison. Ellison is the eighth richest person in the world, with large stakes in Oracle and Tesla. 24Bit Games, which has published popular games like Broforce, was acquired by Megan’s publisher, Annapurna Interactive, in 2023. [Daily Investor]
R500,000 to sit with ANC officials: The ANC Johannesburg Fundraising Gala Dinner recently took place, where delegates could pay half a million rand to sit with high-ranking officials. A R500,000 ticket could get you a seat with Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi, or Regional General Secretary of Johannesburg, Sasabona Manganye. [Newsday]
How much delivery drivers can make: Uber Eats delivery driver and online personality Gideon Joubert says Uber Eats drivers can expect to earn up to R5,000 a week, but they have to work long hours. He added that he spends roughly R650 per week on motorbike rental and R800 per week on petrol, with bikes also often requiring maintenance. [BusinessTech]
Google cuts back on AI feature: Google will roll back its new AI image-generation feature in Google Earth after some people used it to create altered satellite imagery. The company said it is rolling back the feature to implement stronger guardrails and that none of the AI-generated images appeared on the main Google Earth platform. [Bloomberg]
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