The rand firmed late on Tuesday after tumbling to two-and-a-half week lows earlier when rating's agency Fitch warned that South Africa could lose its investment grade status. By 1414 GMT the rand had gained 0.08 percent against the greenback to 11.7600, recovering after falling close to one percent at 11.8175, its weakest level since February 12.
Yields on government bonds rose at a government auction earlier, with the benchmark instrument due in 2026 up 7.5 basis points to 7.7 percent by late trade. South Africa, the continent's most advanced economy but plagued with stubborn structural difficulties, recorded a 24.22 billion rand ($2.1 billion) trade deficit for January and is facing its worst power-supply crisis since 2008. "The comments from Fitch served as catalyst to increase selling pressure on the rand in today's session," said Jana van Deventer, an economist at ETM Analytics.