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Johannesburg - The rand was largely unchanged against the US dollar on Friday, after falling 1% in the previous session as chronic power shortages underlined the fragile state of the economy ahead of credit rating decisions.
By 07:09 GMT, the rand traded 0.06% firmer at R11.6235/$ after closing overnight in New York at R11.6335/$.
The local unit fell to a fresh six-year low on Thursday, with some analysts betting the currency will weaken further as Fitch and Standard and Poor's release credit reports later in the session.
Yields on government bonds rose to continue a week of heavy offshore selling, with the benchmark paper due in 2026 adding 8 basis points to 7.98%.
On Thursday, the government announced a multi-billion rand emergency plan to rescue ailing power utility Eskom, placing it under the watch of National Treasury while funding an increase of gas and diesel imports to avert worst electricity shortages since 2008.
Standard and Poor's cited uncertain energy supply and widening budget and current account deficits when it downgraded South Africa's credit rating in June, and Fitch could follow suit after issuing a negative outlook in the same month.
"The rand has some of this uncertainty priced in, however, should Fitch cut our rating, the knee-jerk reaction could see it trading above R11.70 quite quickly," said Warrick Butler, an executive trader at Standard Bank.
