JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand was flat on Tuesday, though it hovered near a two-week peak, as investors awaited key US inflation data to gauge the Federal Reserve's next move on rate hikes and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's budget speech due this week.
At 0630 GMT, the rand traded at 14.9225 against the dollar, not far off its previous close of 14.9150.
Earlier in the session, the currency touched 14.8975 per dollar, its strongest since Oct. 27, on a softer greenback.
"The next short-term technical support level is likely to be encountered around the 14,7000 level. This scenario is marginally surprising given the ongoing travails at (power utility) Eskom," Nedbank analysts said in a note.
South African markets have in recent sessions been largely unmoved by deeper power cuts being implemented by Eskom as the company struggles with breakdowns at its coal-fired power stations.
Investor focus was fixed on US inflation data due on Wednesday and Godongwana's maiden Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) expected on Thursday.
The MTBPS will outline estimated budget deficits and economic growth forecast over the next three years.
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