South Africa’s rand fell early on Thursday to its lowest this year, as a dispute within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) over the Central Bank weakened demand.
At 0800 GMT, the rand was 0.15 per cent weaker at 14.88 per dollar compared with an overnight close of 14.86.
It tumbled to a session low of 14.96, its weakest since October, 2018, before settling near 14.80.
The currency has been hurt by the ANC’s internal squabble over whether the central bank should do more to promote jobs and growth.
This exacerbated the damage done by data showing that the economy shrank by 3.2 per cent in the first quarter.
Bonds opened weaker, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year issue up by 2.5 basis points to 8.48 per cent.
