Recent data have pointed to ongoing weakness in Africa's
most industrialised economy, after a bigger-than-forecast fall
in the fourth-quarter gross domestic product.
Severe power constraints are hurting businesses of all
sizes, leading the central bank to expect almost no economic
growth this year.
South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was
also broadly flat in early deals, with the yield at 10.040%.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
JOHANNESBURG, March 16 (Reuters) - The South African
rand was steady in early trade on Thursday, after plummeting a
day earlier when a U.S. banking crisis spread to Europe and led
to a sharp deterioration in global risk appetite.
At 0645 GMT, the rand traded at 18.4075 against the dollar , little changed from its previous close of 18.4175.
The local currency ended about 1.6% lower against the U.S.
dollar on Wednesday, shrugging off a smaller-than-expected
contraction in local retail sales in January.
No major South African economic data releases are due on
Thursday.
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