JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand gained on Tuesday, helped by a recovery in risk appetite globally after a steep loss on Monday.
But U.S. dollar strength and power cuts by struggling state-owned utility Eskom continued to pose risks for the South African currency.
As of 1520 GMT, the rand traded at 16.1500 against the dollar, 0.4% firmer than its previous close.
On Monday it lost around 1.3% against the dollar.
Some investors use the rand as a proxy for emerging market risk, making it highly susceptible to swings in global sentiment.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index closed 0.33% higher, while the All-share index ended up 0.3%.
Government bonds slipped, with the yield on the benchmark 2030 instrument up 4.5 basis points at 10.25%.
(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Alexander Winning; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
