The rand continues to strengthen against a basket of major currencies as the ANC seeks to elect a new leader.

Results of the leadership election are expected later on Monday.

The local unit strengthened around 2.5% against the dollar.

It’s trading at around R12,98 to the dollar.

The rand has maintained its relative strength, although market commentators have said there’s still some caution as a win for Cyril Ramaphosa is not guaranteed.

Jeff Schultz, a senior economist with BNP Paribas South Africa, says the currency remains volatile.

“A lot of the volatility in the currency over the last session is probably driven by the domestic political environment, speculations over who is likely to take over the ANC leadership position. We saw the rand open weaker this morning. There is growing optimism that potentially we could see the market-friendly outcomes when the ANC leadership of the top six are announced later this afternoon.”