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JOHANNESBURG. — The South African rand was steady early yesterday, after strengthening the previous day on news that President Cyril Ramaphosa had appointed former central bank governor Tito Mboweni as finance minister.

The rand was 0,03 percent stronger at 14,5500 per dollar at 0700 GMT, having closed in New York at 14,5550.

Ramaphosa said on Tuesday that he had accepted former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene’s resignation after Nene admitted to previously undisclosed meetings with the Gupta family, friends of scandal-plagued former president Jacob Zuma.

The rand is expected to trade between 14,4000 and 14,7000 to the dollar yesterday, NKC African Economics wrote in a note.

South Africa-focused investors were awaiting the release of SACCI business confidence data for September at 0930 GMT.

In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2026 fell 6 basis points to 9,180 percent, continuing to fall as the appointment of a new finance minister reduced political uncertainty. — Reuters.