The rand strengthened against a weaker dollar in early trading on Monday, with the finance minister’s mid-year budget review being the main focus of the week.
The rand was trading at 17.25 against the dollar, which is 0.3% stronger than its closing level on Friday. Meanwhile, the dollar declined about 0.1% against a basket of global currencies.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s budget review is expected to present a slightly improved fiscal outlook, although the government’s economic growth projections may be revised downwards.
Economists will closely monitor Godongwana’s comments regarding the country’s inflation target, which he is responsible for setting, especially since the central bank has been advocating for him to lower it.
Additionally, other economic data releases this week will include third-quarter unemployment figures and September manufacturing output on Tuesday, followed by September mining production data on Thursday.
On Tuesday, 11 November, the rand was trading at R17.17 to the dollar, R22.60 to the pound and 19.84 to the euro. Oil was trading slightly lower at $63.92 a barrel.
5 important things happening in South Africa today
R1.08 trillion down the drain: Municipalities and municipal entities have reported more than R1.08 trillion in fruitless, wasteful, irregular, and unauthorised expenditure between the 2019/20 and 2023/24 financial years. The figures were provided by the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, in a recent parliamentary response to a question from ActionSA MP Alan Beesley. [Newsday]
New business rules slammed: Plans to overhaul business licensing have faced backlash from the National Employers’ Association of SA (NEASA), which represents around 7,000 businesses. Neasa claims the changes are “BEE in disguise” and objects to proposals that allow local councils to create bylaws for preferential licensing of small businesses owned by disadvantaged groups. Neasa warned that the draft Business Licensing Bill could devastate jobs if implemented as is. [Business Day]
New traffic laws delayed: The rollout of the new Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) system has been delayed from 1 December 2025 to July 2026. The Department of Transport announced the delay due to readiness issues in some participating municipalities. [BusinessTech]
Woolworths new ‘stores’: Woolworths is planning to roll out more dark stores that support its on-demand delivery service, Woolies Dash. Dark stores aren’t open to the public and are dedicated to fulfilling online orders. The retailer launched its first dark store, located in Cape Town’s CBD, in August 2024. [MyBroadband]
Checkers’ Sixty60 driver problem: Shoprite states that 30% of its Checkers Sixty60 bike riders are South Africans, up from 23% last year. However, the retailer is struggling to retain local riders, who have a turnover rate nearly double that of riders from other African countries. CEO Pieter Engelbrecht cited the absence of a motorcycle culture in South Africa as a factor and emphasised the company’s focus on driver safety. [News24]
