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Brief Rand Surge Shows Jitters Over South African Land Policy
By and
Updated on
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Rand rallies, then erases gain in response to land move
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U.S. President Trump has called for probe of land seizures
If you wanted proof of how jittery investors are about South African ruling party plans to change the constitution to permit expropriation of land, look no further than Tuesday’s brief surge in the rand after a parliamentary committee announced it was withdrawing a bill on the issue.
The currency, which strengthened as much as 1.5 percent against the dollar, pared the gains after it became clear that the withdrawal of the bill was a procedural move while lawmakers continue studying whether to let the government seize land without paying for it.
