JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s rand was stable early on Thursday after trading turbulently in the days after Donald Trump’s US election win, ahead of September’s mining production data.
At 0803 GMT, the rand traded at 18.2400 against the dollar , near its previous close of 18.2450.
Mining data for September at 0930 GMT will give clues on the health of Africa’s most industrialised economy.
The rand has lost almost 5% against the greenback since the US election last week as markets expect Trump’s policies to bring higher short-term economic growth but also potentially inflationary pressures.
“It’s not only the rand that has found itself in free fall, but all emerging markets,” said Rand Merchant Bank analysts in a research note.
South African rand extends losses before unemployment, manufacturing data
“This sell off is by no means negative sentiment in South Africa but rather a very buoyant dollar,” the note added. On the Johannesburg stock market, the blue-chip Top-40 index traded 0.1% down.
South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was little changed in early deals, with the yield at 9.15%.
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