JOHANNESBURG, May 8 (Reuters) - The South African rand strengthened on Friday, supported by a weaker dollar, while markets also digested a ruling by the country's highest court that revived impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa.
o At 1323 GMT, the rand traded at 16.38 against the dollar, 0.8% stronger than its previous close.
o The greenback was weaker against a basket of currencies as markets priced in optimism over a prospective U.S.-Iran peace agreement.
o South Africa's constitutional court on Friday revived impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa over a scandal dubbed "Farmgate", ruling that parliament had acted unlawfully in blocking the process in 2022.
o The case relates to allegations that large sums of foreign currency were stolen from Ramaphosa's Phala Phala game farm in 2020.
o Central Bank data on Friday showed the country's net foreign reserves rose to $73.76 billion at the end of April, from $73.19 billion in March.
o Next week, South Africa-focused investors will assess unemployment figures, manufacturing production data and mining output, which will shed light on the health of Africa's most industrialised economy.
o On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Top-40 index was last down 1.4%.
o South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond was also weaker, as the yield rose 5 basis points to 8.625%.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov and Nilutpal Timsina; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
