South African rand recoups losses, power cuts in focus

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s rand recouped some losses on Wednesday, a day after the country’s power utility implemented rolling power cuts.

South Africa’s Eskom said on Tuesday it would implement power cuts during evening peak hours this week.

Power cuts have held back economic growth in Africa’s most industrialised economy for more than a decade, but a turnaround in Eskom’s plant performance has resulted in far fewer outages over the last year.

At 1507 GMT the rand traded at 18.23 against the dollar , about 0.3% stronger than its close on Tuesday, when it was also knocked by local jobs data.

Investors are seeking clarity on a potential meeting between South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Business Day newspaper reported that South Africa’s agriculture, energy and transport ministers are crafting trade agreements ahead of a meeting planned for next week in Washington.

On the stock market, the Top-40 index closed about 0.3% lower.

The benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker, as the yield rose 2.5 basis points to 8.95%.