Summary:
- Ramaphosa appears to win ANC leadership in South Africe
- Mr. Ramaphosa seemingly has beaten rival Dlamini-Zuma ex-wife of Jacob Zuma
- ZAR making strong gains on the reports
South Africa’s ruling ANC party have conducted a new leadership vote today as they look to elect Jacob Zuma’s successor. Mr. Zuma has ruled the party since the end of apartheid but has faced scandals and corruption allegations throughout his reign and supporters are hoping that his replacement will bring a new wave of optimism to the party which was formerly headed by Nelson Mandela.
The two front runners in today’s vote are Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and former cabinet minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma the ex-wife of the President. There has yet to be official confirmation of the result but the early indications seem to suggest that Ramaphosa has won according to reports from Reuters and the opposition leader who tweeted “it’s a boy!”
The FX markets have seemingly responded positively to this expected outcome with the South African Rand soaring by more than 2% against the US dollar. The USDZAR has dropped below the 13 handle today and in doing so the pair has also broken a rising trendline going back to March.
The USDZAR has dropped sharply on the reports of Ramaphosa’s victory and in doing so has broken a rising trendline going back to March.
A weekly chart of the cross reveals just how big the declines could be with a drop below 12.31 paving the way for substantial downside. The pair traded as low as 6.62 back in 2010 and there could be further losses ahead if the latest drop gains traction.
A break below 12.31 could lead to further downside ahead as the rally since the 2010 lows looks to be under serious threat. Source: xStation