JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s rand was flat in early trade on Wednesday, with the return of power cuts in focus.
At 0700 GMT the rand traded at 18.29 against the dollar, little changed from the close on Tuesday, when it was knocked by disappointing local jobs data.
State utility Eskom announced on Tuesday it would implement power cuts during evening peak hours this week, and Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is expected to give an update on the power outlook on Wednesday.
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 past year.
Also on investors’ minds will be 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.
The benchmark 2030 government bond was marginally stronger in early deals, as the yield fell 1.5 basis points to 8.91%.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov; Editing by Alexander Winning and Andrew Heavens)
