JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s rand weakened early on Thursday, as gold prices eased amid a rebound in risk appetite, while investors feared rotational power cuts in the rich commodity-exporting country would derail an economic recovery.

At 0630 GMT, the rand traded at 15.0450 against the dollar, 0.28% weaker than its previous close.

South Africa’s higher exposure to safe-haven commodities, including gold, platinum and palladium, has helped limit losses in the rand after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine rocked global markets.

Gold prices fell on Thursday as risk appetite rebounded following a retreat in oil prices.

In South Africa, where frequent electricity outages have already limited economic growth, Eskom continued with more than six hours of daily scheduled power cuts after it suffered breakdowns at generation units earlier in the week.

Eskom has said the controlled cuts are necessary to prevent a “catastrophic” collapse of the power grid.

The yield on the benchmark 2030 government bond was down 3 basis points to 9.845%.