{"id":858346,"date":"2026-04-24T07:47:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T05:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=858346"},"modified":"2026-04-24T11:15:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:15:55","slug":"end-of-an-era-for-woolworths-chocolate-maker-and-ramaphosa-suspends-top-official","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/5-things\/858346\/end-of-an-era-for-woolworths-chocolate-maker-and-ramaphosa-suspends-top-official\/","title":{"rendered":"End of an era for Woolworths chocolate maker, and Ramaphosa suspends top official"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The rand weakened in early trading on Thursday amid a standoff between Iran and the US in the Middle East conflict, along with a lack of progress in peace talks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These factors pushed oil prices back above $100 per barrel, impacting investor sentiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rand was trading at 16.53 against the dollar, approximately 0.4% weaker than its previous closing value. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the dollar remained mostly stable against a basket of currencies, while oil prices increased by more than $1. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As South Africa is a net importer of energy, it is particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in global prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, Iran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz, tightening its control over this crucial waterway after US President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire with no indications of renewed peace talks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump also upheld the US Navy’s blockade on Iran’s maritime trade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, stated that a full ceasefire would only be meaningful if it were lifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond weakened in early deals, with the yield rising by 6 basis points to 8.615%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of Friday, 24 April, the rand is trading at R16.65 to the dollar, R22.41 to the pound, and R19.44 to the euro. Gold is currently valued at $4,678.4 per ounce, while oil prices have risen to $105.6 per barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 important things happening in South Africa today<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

End of an era for Woolworths chocolatier:<\/strong> South Africa’s largest independent chocolate maker, Beyers Chocolate, has entered liquidation after a supply exclusivity dispute ended its 34-year partnership with Woolworths. [Financial Mail<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ramaphosa suspends top official:<\/strong> President Cyril Ramaphosa has suspended National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola and appointed Puleng Dimpane, SAPS Divisional Commissioner for Financial Services, as Acting National Police Commissioner. [TimesLive<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New rules for gold and crypto: <\/strong>New draft regulations may require South African residents to sell gold, foreign currency, or crypto assets to the National Treasury if they exceed a threshold set by the Finance Minister. [DailyInvestor<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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US wants more South Africans:<\/strong> The United States may raise its annual refugee quota from a historic low of 7,500, according to a State Department official. [ENCA<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New project with Amazon and World Bank:<\/strong> The World Bank has partnered with Amazon.com on a bond to fund ecosystem rehabilitation in South Africa\u2019s Eastern Cape Province. [MyBroadband<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are five important things happening in South Africa on Friday, 24 April 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":856881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20398],"tags":[18993,853],"class_list":["post-858346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-5-things","tag-5-important-things-happening-in-south-africa-today","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858346"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858346\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":858390,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858346\/revisions\/858390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/856881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}