South Africa’s rand was flat in early trade on Thursday, despite gains in other emerging market currencies as the U.S. dollar fell.
At 0717 GMT, the rand traded at 18.0300 against the dollar, compared to its previous close of 18.0275.
The dollar was down about .08% against a basket of global currencies , as investors showed a higher risk appetite on signs the overall global growth outlook is improving following a slew of strong U.S. economic data.
“This morning the rand is trading unchanged at 18.03 despite its emerging market peers having firmed from yesterday,” said Andre Cilliers, a currency strategist at TreasuryONE.
Recent warnings from ratings agencies Fitch and Moody’s about the impact of South Africa’s power crisis on its growth prospects have raised concerns about a possible downgrade and weighed on the rand’s performance, he said.
Later in the day, President Cyril Ramaphosa will respond to lawmakers’ debate on his state of the nation address, during which he declared a national state of disaster over the power shortages.
On the stock market, the Top-40 (.JTOPI) index and the broader all-share (.JALSH) were up about 0.9% in early trade.
The government’s benchmark 2030 bond was stronger in early deals, with the yield down 3.5 basis points at 9.945%.
