Rand pressured by a stronger US dollar

The South African rand was pressured by a stronger US dollar in early trade on Tuesday.

At 08:11, the rand traded at R18.46 against the US dollar.

The dollar was up around 0.2% against a basket of global currencies.

South Africa’s January money supply figures are due at 0600 GMT, followed by fourth-quarter unemployment numbers at 0930 GMT.

January trade and budget data will be released at 1200 GMT.

South Africa’s economy is expected to register minimal growth this year as record power cuts constrain businesses of all sizes.

At its first interest rate meeting of 2023, the central bank cut this year’s growth forecast to 0.3% from a previous estimate of 1.1%.