GBP/ZAR

South Africa’s Rand has held onto gains made since the ANC leadership election and analysts are now looking February’s credit rating decision (likely) as the next main event for the currency.

Cyril Ramaphosa’s election to lead the ANC has spurred the Rand higher and could mean a new dawn in South African politics but how much higher can the currency go?

Strange but true: the Rand is strengthening, yet what could be propelling it higher and will it last?

The South African currency is at risk of a sell-off on Friday as rating agencies decide whether to downgrade the country's credit rating or not, with potentially devastating consequences for its currency.

A compelling chart pattern favours a rise in the Pound-to-Rand in the week ahead, with political risks for both currencies potentially providing the high volatility drivers.

The Pound-to-South African Rand is at a crossroads on price charts as we enter the new trading, though a lack of market-moving data means the outlook could remain fuzzy for some time.

The Rand weakened substantially following last week's budget but losses may only have been temporary suggests one interpretation, backed up by several analysts views.

The Pound-to-South African Rand seems to have finished correcting back and now looks poised to advance in the coming, helped by subsiding Brexit fears and what many expect to be a disappointing budget.

The South African Rand started moving down as the Dollar moved higher at the end of the trading week, inversely mirroring the movements of the greenback. 

The Pound-to-Rand exchange rate's short-term trend higher stalled following a major ruling by the supreme court against President Zuma, and the exchange rate has since started moving lower; now it is expected to continue until it meets a bundle of tough support levels in the 17.40s.

The charts foretell of more weakness for the Rand; its attractiveness to investors has been brought into question by an increasingly risky political and economic backdrop, and it is falling due to an inverted relationship to the strengthening Dollar.

There is no real change from our previous technical forecast for the Rand which has pulled back marginally over the last week but is still in an established uptrend which is expected to continue.

A surprise 2.5% boost to second quarter growth was not enough to support the South African Rand last week, which ended Friday lower against the Pound.

The Pound to Rand, like most Sterling pairs, has been falling for most of August as expectations that the Bank of England (BOE) might raise interest rates have slowly evaporated.

The South African Rand has risen steadily against Sterling during the month of August but a strong bounce by the UK currency on Monday has brought this trend into question. 

The South African Rand has a, “mild bias for gains but is really going no-where,” according to strategist Richard Cairns, of Rand Merchant Bank (RMB).

The Rand is still falling, in what is now a familiar pattern, after the news that the South African (SA) President, Jacob Zuma, narrowly survived a vote of no-confidence on Tuesday.

The Pound to Rand exchange rate has consolidated its break above the major multi-month trend-line and is forging higher- reinforcing the expectation that the Rand will weaken.