Rand holds steady ahead of Budget 3.0
The two key events remain the focus of the week and are expected to shape the fiscal and diplomatic direction in the short and long run.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana answers questions from the media about the 2025 budget tabled. Picture: GCIS
JOHANNESBURG - The rand has held steady so far as National Treasury puts in the final preparations for budget 3.0 and as the South African delegation in Washington meets behind closed doors ahead of the high-stakes meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
The two key events remain the focus of the week and are expected to shape the fiscal and diplomatic direction in the short and long run.
Aside from a time difference, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will present the budget, and President Cyril Ramaphosa will sit down with Trump on Wednesday.
Four ministers are with Ramaphosa in Washington, including Trade Minister Parks Tau and Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen.
Both have begun the groundwork ahead of Wednesday's defining diplomatic moment.
In Cape Town, the old budget review documents from the first two versions have been amended.
READ: Neither Ramaphosa nor Mashatile will be present when Godongwana tables budget speech
While we count down the hours, investors are looking on.
The rand started the morning at R18.08 cents against the dollar, slightly gaining strength when it dipped below the R18 mark briefly, coming into the afternoon.
Overall, on Tuesday, it's held steady between R17.97 and R18.11.
Trade-related uncertainties, ballooning fiscal debt, and weakened confidence about US exceptionalism have weighed on the dollar generally-- raising fresh concerns about the pressure on that currency.
The big test for the rand will be on Wednesday.