JOHANNESBURG – The South African rand gained on Wednesday after a purchasing managers’ survey showed improved business conditions.
At 1417 GMT the rand traded at 15.9425 against the dollar , about 0.3% stronger than Tuesday’s close.
The dollar was flat against a basket of currencies, while gold, a key South African export, rose further after its biggest daily gain in 17 years in the previous session.
“It looks like we have settled back into a pattern that we have generally seen in the last couple of months. Commodities edge up, which leads to all currencies moving up against the USD,” said Adam Phillips, treasury specialist at Umkhulu Treasury.
South Africa’s private sector business conditions stabilised in January after a challenging end to 2025, as demand steadied and price pressures eased, an S&P Global survey showed.
The report said there was general optimism on the outlook as “lower inflation, rising tourism and improved energy supply appear to have supported companies in their forecasts for 2026.”
Like other risk-sensitive currencies, the rand often takes cues from global drivers such as U.S. policy in addition to local factors.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a law that will extend a preferential trade programme for Africa to December 31, effective retroactively from September 30, 2025.
However, there is still uncertainty over whether South Africa will continue to benefit from preferential access amid strained ties with Washington.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index was last up 0.9%.
South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond was weaker, with the yield up 3 basis points to 8.055%.
