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Rand On Back Foot Despite Eskom Announcement

ZAR

USD/ZAR bounces off session lows (ZAR18.0048) as the BBDXY index swings to session highs after Eskom's announcement of a temporary reprieve in Stage 6 load-shedding failed to help the pair probe the water below the ZAR18.00 figure.

  • South Africa's electricity utility said that it will reduce power rationing between 05:00-16:00 on both Saturday and Sunday due to lower weekend demand. Still, it will return to Stage 6 outages late on Sunday as generation capacity shortages persist.
  • Local-currency bond yields remain at elevated levels, curve runs steeper. South African equities are resilient, with the FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index sitting ~0.7% higher on the day.
  • When this is being typed, USD/ZAR deals at ZAR18.0986, up ~510 pips on the session. Familiar technical picture remains in play, with yesterday's high (ZAR18.4337) still far away.

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