{"id":853688,"date":"2026-03-12T07:57:48","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T05:57:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=853688"},"modified":"2026-04-02T09:22:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T07:22:43","slug":"r200-billion-hit-for-south-africas-big-banks-and-eskom-names-municipalities-at-risk-of-disconnection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/5-things\/853688\/r200-billion-hit-for-south-africas-big-banks-and-eskom-names-municipalities-at-risk-of-disconnection\/","title":{"rendered":"R200 billion hit for South Africa’s big banks, and Eskom names municipalities at risk of disconnection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The rand weakened against the dollar on Wednesday as US inflation data for February met expectations. Global markets remained focused on the Middle East amid rising concerns about oil prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rand traded at 16.3750 per dollar, approximately 0.5% weaker than Tuesday’s close. The local currency has been under pressure recently, having lost more than 3% in value last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This decline has been driven by global risk aversion and higher oil prices, which are particularly detrimental for South Africa as a net energy importer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rand briefly found some relief when US President Donald Trump suggested that the conflict in the Middle East could soon come to an end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, analysts warned that the currency remains highly sensitive to geopolitical risks, given the uncertainty surrounding the duration and extent of the conflict’s impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran’s military command stated on Wednesday that the world should prepare for oil prices to reach $200 a barrel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the dollar was last recorded as 0.2% stronger against a basket of currencies, following data that showed the US Consumer Price Index rose by 0.3% in February\u2014aligning with forecasts and surpassing January’s 0.2% increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traders are now looking ahead to the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, scheduled for release on Friday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like other risk-sensitive currencies, the rand often responds to global factors, in addition to domestic economic data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa’s domestic investors are awaiting the release of economic data this week, which includes January’s mining and manufacturing statistics, as well as fourth-quarter current account data, for further insights into the state of the country\u2019s economy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index was last down by 2%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of Thursday, 12 March, the rand is trading at R16.58 to the dollar, R22.16 to the pound, and R19.13 to the euro. Gold is currently valued at $5,152.06 per ounce, while oil prices have risen to $99.65 per barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 important things happening in South Africa today<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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R200 billion hit for South Africa’s banks:\u00a0<\/strong>South Africa’s top five banks by market value have lost over R200 billion since the Middle East conflict began, with the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) most affected due to its high exposure to the sector. [Businessday<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Eskom names municipalities at risk<\/strong> of disconnection:<\/strong> On March 5, Eskom announced credit control measures that could cut electricity to 14 municipalities, including Ekurhuleni, which supplies OR Tambo International Airport. [Moneyweb<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Diesel restrictions begin:<\/strong> Although major service stations in South Africa have not yet imposed restrictions on the sale of petrol and diesel, some agricultural companies have begun to limit daily diesel sales to farmers. In small towns and rural areas, several agricultural businesses offer diesel at lower prices compared to major franchise service stations. While these businesses are no longer farmer-owned cooperatives, they continue to be popular among farmers, as they help reduce agricultural input costs, which often require significant amounts of fuel. [MyBroadband<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Disaster for<\/strong> DSTV-owner:<\/strong> MultiChoice is experiencing a decline in subscribers, dropping from 14.9 million to 14.4 million in 2025, alongside a 14% decrease in operating profit to \u20ac159 million (R3 billion). Canal+, the new owner, reported these figures in its first annual results since acquiring the South African pay-TV operator, highlighting a troubling trend that has persisted since 2023. [Moneyweb<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Good news for chicken prices in South Africa:<\/strong>\u00a0Demand for poultry products continues to be strong as beef prices rise due to the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak (FMD). However, consumers are assured they will not face higher chicken prices this year. [News24<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are five important things happening in South Africa on Thursday, 12 March 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":812493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20398],"tags":[18993,853],"class_list":["post-853688","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\/853688","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=853688"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853688\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":855767,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853688\/revisions\/855767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=853688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=853688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=853688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}