Rand Registers Gains Despite Intensified Loadshedding

USD/ZAR has sold off after briefly looking above the 18.00 figure, pressured by headlines surrounding a Chinese Politburo meeting, which adopted more forceful language re: well-defined areas of concern, signalling more supportive measures for the economy.

• The pair last deals at 17.8342, down ~1260 pips on the session. Our technical analyst flags that the recent continuation lower highlights a stronger bearish threat. On the downside, the focus falls on Jul 20 low of 17.7370 and Mar 31 low of 17.6993.
• The commodity complex has strengthened, with the aggregate BBG Commodity Index last seen over 0.7% higher on the day. However, precious metals have lagged behind the rest of the space, with the precious metals subindex operating ~0.3% below neutral levels, while gold is little changed.
• The rand has been unfazed by negative news on the local energy situation. Eskom ramped up loadshedding amid delays in returning generation units to service and breakdowns at other plants, while the Electricity Minister said that he was "worried and extremely upset" about delays to maintenance works at Koeberg nuclear plant.
• As a reminder, President Cyril Ramaphosa will travel to St. Petersburg for the Russia-Africa summit this week. This comes after his government was forced to ask national prosecutors to issue an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin after a similar document was issued by the International Criminal Court.