JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand fell on Monday as the dollar gained on global markets, while stocks were down at the day’s close.
At 1620 GMT, the rand traded at 18.3100 against the dollar, 1.33% weaker than its closing level on Friday.
The dollar index, which measures the currency against six rivals, was last up 0.541% at 102.210.
Greg Davies, head of wealth at Cratos Capital, told Reuters that the rand remained weaker due to investors’ concerns over long power cuts during the South African winter.
The struggling state utility said on Monday it will continue to implement Stage 5 and Stage 6 power cuts due to breakdowns at some of its plants.
On Wednesday, investors will be looking closely at the March consumer price index (CPI) to gauge the success of the South African Reserve Bank’s interest rate hikes in taming price pressures.
The worst power cuts on record mean the prospects for growth in Africa’s most industrialised economy this year are bleak.
But in an interview with Reuters on Friday, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana ruled out the chances of a recession this year.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Top-40 index closed down 0.13%, while the broader all-share index ended the day 0.19% lower.
The government’s benchmark 2030 bond was weaker, with the yield up 10.5 basis points at 10.050%.
(Reporting by Tannur Anders and Alexander Winning; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Anait Miridzhanian and Angus MacSwan)
