{"id":848875,"date":"2026-01-27T08:01:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T06:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=848875"},"modified":"2026-01-27T08:01:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T06:01:07","slug":"blow-for-pick-n-pay-and-eskoms-message-to-south-africans-using-solar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/5-things\/848875\/blow-for-pick-n-pay-and-eskoms-message-to-south-africans-using-solar\/","title":{"rendered":"Blow for Pick n Pay, and Eskom’s message to South Africans using solar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The rand reached its strongest level against the dollar in three and a half years on Monday, driven by record prices for precious metals and optimism about South Africa’s economic outlook. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rand hit R16\/$ for the first time since June 2022, before slightly retreating in subsequent trading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Global gold prices surged to an all-time high, exceeding $5,100 per ounce, as central banks and investors sought refuge from geopolitical risks and market volatility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gold, along with other precious metals like platinum, which also set a record high on Monday, constitutes a major part of South Africa’s exports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rally in these metals contributed to the rand’s approximately 14% gain against the dollar last year and over 3% so far this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more than a decade, South Africa’s economy struggled with slow growth and increasing debt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, investor interest began to improve last year as economic reforms started producing positive results and the overall fiscal outlook brightened. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fund managers noted a broad re-evaluation of South African assets after years of underperformance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Government bonds have performed strongly, with benchmark 10-year yields falling to their lowest levels since 2019, supported by slowing inflation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have one of the highest real yields in the emerging market universe, which makes South Africa appealing to global investors,” said analysts at Ninety One.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

US bank Goldman Sachs is optimistic about the outlook for South African stocks, stating that local interest rate cuts should benefit economic sectors that have previously lagged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s All-Share Index increased by 1.3% on Monday, reaching another record high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of Tuesday, 27 January, the rand is trading at R16.02 to the dollar, R21.92 to the pound, and R19.03 to the euro. Gold is currently valued at $5059.33 per ounce, while oil prices have increased to $65.09 per barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 important things happening in South Africa today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pick n Pay liable for injuries<\/strong>: Pick n Pay has made another unsuccessful attempt to appeal a high court ruling that found the company liable for the personal injuries, medical expenses, and other costs incurred by a customer who slipped and fell at its N1 City Mall store in Cape Town in 2017. [Moneyweb<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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No fines for unregistered solar systems<\/strong>: Eskom will not fine its direct customers who do not register their solar power systems in its small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) programme \u2013 at least for the time being.[MyBroadband<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Half a billion rand to repair the Kruger <\/strong>: The cost of repairing flood damage at the Kruger National Park has risen to over R500 million and could reach as high as R700 million, according to Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, Willie Aucamp. [EWN<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Johannesburg Mayor oversteps:<\/strong> Johannesburg MMC for roads and transport, Kenny Kunene, has accused Mayor Dada Morero of overstepping his authority by unilaterally suspending the Rea Vaya feeder bus services in Soweto and disregarding legal and technical advice from officials. Transport officials warned that the mayor did not have the legal authority to suspend the services, as that power belonged to the national government and was subject to parliamentary processes.
[TimesLIVE<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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R255 million corruption scandal back in hearing<\/strong>: The Free State High Court heard the R255 million asbestos corruption case on January 26, 2026, after extended delays. Former Free State Premier Ace Magashule and his co-accused appeared in court.[Newsday<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are five important things happening in South Africa on Tuesday, 27 January 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":841111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20398],"tags":[18993,853],"class_list":["post-848875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-5-things","tag-5-important-things-happening-in-south-africa-today","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=848875"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":848901,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848875\/revisions\/848901"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/841111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=848875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=848875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=848875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}