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The rand, which has been pummelled in recent days by concerns around a burgeoning power crisis and weak economic data, fell almost a percent against the dollar on Thursday.
In early trading, it hit R19.485 against the dollar. Last week, it slumped to a record low of R19.50 after the US accused South Africa of supply arms to Russia.
By lunchtime, the rand had slightly recovered to R19.368. The rand started the month at below R18.30/$, and has now lost almost 22% of its value over the past year.
Eskom may have to implement Stage 8 level of power cuts this winter if its interventions are not effective, said Group Executive for Transmission Segomoco Scheppers in a briefing on Thursday.
READ | Minimum of Stage 5 for most of winter, 'extremely high' chance of Stage 8 - Eskom
Other emerging market currencies have also declined so far this week as the safe-haven dollar received a boost from China growth concerns and discussions about the US debt ceiling.
The Chinese yuan slid to its lowest level against the dollar since early December, as a raft of recent economic data pointed to weak consumer demand and a slow post-pandemic recovery for the world's second largest economy.
Turkey's lira also weakened further, nudging closer to all-time lows.
The Turkish lira was last at 19.78 versus the dollar, coming within a whisker of its record low of 19.80, which it hit right after the deadly earthquake struck in early March.
The currency has been steadily weakening since the recent presidential vote, in which incumbent President Tayyip Erdogan performed better than expected, leading investors to bet that he would extend his rule and his unorthodox monetary policies into a third decade.
"Should Erdogan be re-elected, the lira may be allowed to trade far more freely after being supported by backdoor FX interventions, which are not sustainable over the mid-term horizon," said Piotr Matys, senior FX analyst at In Touch Capital Markets.
"Unless the CBRT (central bank of Turkey) raises interest rates significantly, the lira may drop precipitously if backdoor FX interventions stop or are reduced markedly."
Additional reporting by News24
