JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s rand firmed nearly one-and-a-half percent on Friday on a court ruling affecting delegates set to take part at a conference of the African National Congress and investors cutting long dollar positions amid tight liquidity.
At 1107 GMT the rand was 1.41 percent firmer at 13.3000 per dollar.
Analysts said the ruling could block some delegates from Kwazulu-Natal province who support Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, a former cabinet minister, from taking part at the conference called to elect a new leader to replace President Jacob Zuma.
The race between Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and Dlamini-Zuma is still too close to call. Traders said the court decision was viewed by investors as a positive for Ramaphosa.
