Rand slumps amid South African power crisis

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STORY: The South African rand slumped on Monday (January 16) as investor concerns mounted over the country's power crisis.

Struggling state utility Eskom last week ramped up power cuts to their worst ever level.

That means at least six hours a day without power - and often more - for most South Africans.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has canceled his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos because of the situation, a spokesperson said on Sunday (January 15).

At 1230 GMT on Monday the rand was trading at a little over 17 to the dollar, about 1.4% weaker than its previous close.

It had earlier hit its weakest level since December 13.

Last week Eskom said it would be implementing so-called "Stage 6" power cuts until further notice as more of its generating units broke down.

That requires 6,000 megawatts to be shed from the national grid, versus Eskom's nominal capacity of 46,000 megawatts.