Rand Slightly Weaker Amid Fiscal Concerns

USD/ZAR has oscillated between gains and losses today but now sits slightly above neutral levels, even as Eskom announced a de-escalation in power cuts over the weekend. The pair last deals at 19.0302, struggling to test familiar technical levels.

• Fiscal concerns continue to linger, with the government facing difficult trade-offs while working on the next mini-budget. News24 and the Mail & Guardian reported that Cabinet rejected the Treasury's cost-saving plans, which included proposals suggesting "the bloated cabinet be cut and departments trim their expenditure" (M&G).
• JP Morgan write that the medium-term budget policy statement "does not typically contain new policy measures" but "could indicate the intended size of policy efforts with final details in the February budget." They note that "elections in 1H24 curb room for front-loaded efforts amid little buy-in from social partners and talks of a strike."