WEDNESDAY, 11.00AM
ON the first day of relaxed exchange controls on Tuesday, in which South Africans can invest up to R200 000 offshore, only R15-million left the country, according to deputy Reserve Bank governor James Cross.
The amount was far lower than even the Bank’s most optimistic scenario. Said Cross: “Should the demand for dollars stabilise at R15-million a day for the next month, we will only lose R300-million … which will not hurt at all.”
The day saw bonds surging on the JSE, and the industrial index hit a record high. The currency also gained slightly despite the Reserve Bank being a net buyer of dollars.gold”>Gold in bottomless pit