Rand gains more than 1 percent on politics, low liquidity

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.

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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.