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THE rand was softer against the dollar late on Tuesday but has nonetheless been able to hold on to recent gains, despite the political turmoil facing the country at present.

Bidvest bank said this suggested offshore investors did not take a dim view of this past weekend’s developments at the African National Congress’s national executive committee meeting.

In conjunction with the less hawkish US Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank’s decision to hike the benchmark repo rate 25 basis points to 7% last Thursday, the rand managed to find some reprieve after sharp declines early last week.

At 3.28pm, the rand was trading at R15.3328 to the dollar from R15.2022 at Friday’s close.

It was at R17.2028 against the euro from R17.0859 previously and at R21.7937 against the pound from R21.8455 previously. The euro was at $1.1220 from $1.1239 previously.

Yet, in the overall scheme of things, it was still fair to describe the rand as a fragile currency and one that would remain "hypersensitive" to political developments that were unfolding, Bidvest said.

Meanwhile local traders awaited the release of South African inflation data on Wednesday.

Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), is expected to track higher in February from 6.2% year on year in January. the data are bound to affect markets.