JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand steadied against the dollar in early trade on Tuesday ahead of closely watched data releases including mining output later in the day and an interest rates decision on Thursday.
* At 0610 GMT, the rand traded at 13.7675 per dollar, little changed from its New York close of 13.7575 on Monday.
* "Our focus shifts towards the South African Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee which starts its three-day meeting today, leading up to the interest rate announcement on Thursday," said Bianca Botes, corporate treasury manager at Peregrine.
* "At the same time local data, including gold and mining production coupled with retail sales, could see some turbulence unfold in the currency today," said Botes.
* The South African currency has started 2019 on the front-foot, rallying more than 3.5 percent against the dollar. But it remains vulnerable to swings in global risk appetite as well as uncertainty surrounding this year's parliamentary election.
* In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2026 dipped 2 basis points to 8.79 percent in early trade.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.