South Africa’s rand weakened in early trading on Wednesday as investors awaited local inflation data for insights into the state of Africa’s most industrialized economy.
By 06:00 GMT, the rand was trading at 18.44 against the U.S. dollar, down about 0.3% from its previous close. Recent sessions have seen volatility in the currency, driven by concerns over the national budget, ongoing power supply issues, and uncertainty surrounding former U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
Meanwhile, state power utility Eskom suspended rotational power cuts, known as load shedding, on Wednesday.
Investors are closely watching South Africa’s January inflation data, set to be released by the national statistics agency at 08:00 GMT. The figures could offer further indications of the central bank’s interest rate direction. A Reuters poll of economists predicts a year-on-year inflation increase of 3.3% for January.
In the bond market, South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond weakened slightly in early trade, with the yield rising 0.5 basis points to 9.07%.
