Rand Stabilises Ahead Of SARB Rate Decision

USD/ZAR lost altitude Wednesday, correcting the move as the Fed struck some hawkish notes, despite keeping interest rates unchanged. Earlier in the day, data confirmed that South Africa's headline inflation accelerated to +4.8% Y/Y in August, in line with expectations.

• The pair round tripped from an intraday high of 18.9620 and is back to neutral levels, last sitting at 18.8428. A dip through Aug 24 low of 18.3805 would open up scope for deeper losses. Bulls look for a jump above 19.3301, the 76.4% retracement of the Jun 1 - Jul 27 downleg.
• Eskom provided some further reprieve on the loadshedding front, suspending power cuts until 16:00 today. Stage 3 outages will be implemented from 16:00 until 05:00 tomorrow.
• The BBG Commodity Index has shed 0.9% this morning. Precious metals are even weaker, with the relevant subindex down 1.3% on the day, as gold is $4.8/oz. worse off.
• SAGB yields have climbed across the curve. South Africa's 10-year breakeven inflation rate sits at 6.90%, hitting best levels in a month.