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Rand weakens, focus mainly offshore

Johannesburg - The rand weakened on Wednesday, suffering the effects of a strong dollar, although trade was light as investors waited for the outcome of a European Central Bank policy meeting and US jobs numbers later in the week.

At 08:48, the rand was 0.5% softer against the dollar at R11.0900. The dollar was bolstered by US mid-term election results that raised hopes of an end in political gridlock in Washington.

The rand is also coming under pressure from the failure of state power company Eskom to keep the lights on.

READ: Eskom issues nationwide power alert

Eskom cut power across the country on Sunday and said the grid would remain under pressure on Wednesday and Thursday after an accident at a large power station.

READ: Rolling blackouts in country's cities

"Dollar/rand left R11.10 resistance intact on Tuesday. However locally, the power grid remains constrained, leaving the scope for dollar/rand pull-backs limited," Anisha Arora, emerging market analyst at 4Cast, said.

Government bond yields rose to Tuesday's levels of 7.985% on the benchmark 2026 issue.

The government will announce issuance plans for next week at 11:00.


READ THIS NEXT: SA heading for serious trouble – energy expert

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Rand - Dollar
19.03
-0.1%
Rand - Pound
23.79
+0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.41
+0.0%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.42
-0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.3%
Platinum
930.50
+0.5%
Palladium
994.50
+0.4%
Gold
2,336.18
+0.2%
Silver
27.58
+0.6%
Brent Crude
89.01
+1.1%
Top 40
68,437
0.0%
All Share
74,329
0.0%
Resource 10
62,119
0.0%
Industrial 25
102,531
0.0%
Financial 15
15,802
0.0%
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