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Johannesburg - The rand edged down against the dollar on Wednesday as a national engineering strike entered its second day, weighing on investor sentiment in Africa's top economy.
The local unit continued a poor run this week against the dollar, falling 0.15% to R10.6875 per dollar by 08:02.
The rand lost over a third of a percent against the dollar on Tuesday after members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) said its members would revert to a higher wage demand after negotiations with employers "collapsed"
"This industrial action will not be resolved quickly given Numsa’s political motivations for striking – it is not just about wages," NKC Independent Economists said in a morning market note.
The strike will cost the economy more than R300m of gross domestic product a day, an employers body said.
The strike has also affected construction at two of state-owned electricity supplier Eskom's power stations, which won an interdict late on Tuesday preventing its employees from downing tools
Government bonds were largely unmoved, with yields on the shorter paper due next year as well as that on the bond due in 2026 flat, at 6.720% and 8.345% respectively.
The local unit continued a poor run this week against the dollar, falling 0.15% to R10.6875 per dollar by 08:02.
The rand lost over a third of a percent against the dollar on Tuesday after members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) said its members would revert to a higher wage demand after negotiations with employers "collapsed"
"This industrial action will not be resolved quickly given Numsa’s political motivations for striking – it is not just about wages," NKC Independent Economists said in a morning market note.
The strike will cost the economy more than R300m of gross domestic product a day, an employers body said.
The strike has also affected construction at two of state-owned electricity supplier Eskom's power stations, which won an interdict late on Tuesday preventing its employees from downing tools
Government bonds were largely unmoved, with yields on the shorter paper due next year as well as that on the bond due in 2026 flat, at 6.720% and 8.345% respectively.
