JOHANNESBURG: The South African rand was little changed in early trade on Thursday after taking a battering during May on the back of souring investor sentiment.

At 0628 GMT, the rand traded at 19.7500 against the dollar, around 0.14% weaker than its previous close.

The rand is hovering around its all-time low of 19.8600 which it hit on Tuesday.

Worsening rolling blackouts and US allegations that South Africa had supplied arms to Russia last year left a sour taste in investors’ mouths.

This sent the rand into a tailspin in May where it lost over 7% against the greenback.

The dollar was last trading at 104.310, against a basket of global currencies, not far from its Wednesday close of 104.150.

Overnight, the US House of Representatives passed a bill to suspend $31.4 trillion debt ceiling. Failure to pass this bill could have sent one of the world’s biggest economies into a recession.

South African rand flat but market nervous after last week’s record low

The matter is now headed to the US Senate where the legislation could be enacted before the weekend. “This will reduce the degree of risk aversion and potentially trigger a move back towards riskier investment destinations,” said ETM Analytics in a research note.

The rand often takes cues from global factors like US policy in the absence of major local economic data. South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was flat in early deals at 11.300%.