Rand On Back Foot Despite Imminent Easing In Load-Shedding

The South African Rand has shrugged off the latest de-escalation in power rationing, with spot USD/ZAR last seen at ZAR17.2310, up ~430 pips on the session. The pair's earlier upswing was capped at ZAR17.2835, as bulls failed to force their way towards a key near-term resistance from Jan 6 high of ZAR17.4343.

• Eskom said it will reduce load-shedding to Stage 3 on Saturday morning, returning to Stage 4 in the evening. It will then move to Stage 2 on Sunday morning, before switching to Stage 4 on Sunday evening. The next update will be published on Sunday afternoon, barring any unexpected changes.
• The ANC's top decision-making body meets today to elect a working committee, which runs the party's daily business. The NEC will continue its deliberations over the weekend and the outcomes will likely feed into next week's Cabinet meeting. It is expected that officials will debate the imminent Cabinet reshuffle.
• Local-currency bonds have resumed losses in afternoon trade and last trade 3.3-8.0bp cheaper across the curve. The closely watched 10-year breakeven inflation rate has moved away from one-year lows and last sits at 5.88%.
• The FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index has trimmed gains after topping out at 81,338, which marked a new all-time high. The index last is 0.35% better off.