JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s rand strengthened in early trade on Monday, ahead of a meeting by the executive committee of the country’s governing party to decide the fate of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) party will convene a meeting of its National Executive Committee to discuss a panel report that found evidence Ramaphosa may have committed misconduct and violated the oath of his office.

At 0635 GMT, the rand traded at 17.3000 against the US dollar, 1.42% stronger than its previous close.

Investors have been on tenterhooks over the developments surrounding the president, with the rand falling over 4% on Thursday against the dollar, before recovering.

South African rand edges up before budget and trade data

“We believe that the political landscape will probably remain turbulent in the final weeks of this year, weighing on investor sentiment towards South Africa and resulting in increased market volatility,” said analysts at Nedbank in a research note.

Investors also await the S&P Global South Africa PMI survey for November, due later in the day, for clues on the health of the economy.

Meanwhile, the dollar index was trading 0.23% lower at 104.23 as China’s easing of some of its COVID-19 curbs boosted risk sentiment.

The government’s benchmark 2030 bond was stronger in early deals, with the yield down 11 basis points to 10.695%.