Tannur Anders

South Africa recorded a budget deficit of 46.08 billion rand ($2.55 billion) in October, compared with a deficit of 41.15 billion rand in the same month a year earlier, National Treasury data showed on Friday. ($1 = 18.0501 rand)

South Africa's rand firmed on Thursday after the central bank opted for another small cut to its main interest, quashing hopes of a bigger move.

South Africa's rand slipped on Wednesday against a buoyant dollar, despite inflation dropping to its lowest level in more than four years, and as investors geared up for a policy announcement by the central bank on Thursday.

South African retail sales rose 0.9% year on year in September after rising by a revised 3.3% in August, Statistics South Africa figures showed on Wednesday.

Southern Africa's regional bloc on Wednesday extended by a year its troop deployment in Democratic Republic of Congo, where it is helping the government fight rebel groups.

The South African rand fell on Tuesday as investors pulled out of riskier assets after President Vladimir Putin updated Russia's nuclear doctrine amid escalating tensions with the United States over Ukraine.

South African police were in a standoff on Thursday with hundreds of illegal miners believed to be underground in a disused shaft, a day after a cabinet minister said the government was trying to "smoke them out".

The South African rand gained on Friday as the U.S. dollar slipped, but analysts said pressure could soon build again as bets on U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's policies remain a key market driver.

Botswana President Duma Boko on Thursday appointed Bogolo Joy Kenewendo as minister of minerals and energy.

South Africa will be unable to shed its "junk" credit rating for years to come, credit analysts said, despite investor optimism over the economic trajectory since the formation of a coalition government this year.