South Africa's rand firmed against a steady dollar on Monday, as investors looked ahead to key offshore events including a report from the US central bank, while stocks fell. At 1608 GMT the rand traded at 14.3100 to the dollar, 0.56 percent higher than its New York close on Friday. An index that tracks the greenback against the euro, yen, sterling and three other currencies was down 0.05 percent at 97.95.
A Federal Reserve policy meeting, Brexit negotiations and a raft of global data including US payrolls could each be the trigger for big swings in currency markets this week. "This week investors will be eyeing the Fed and BoE rate decisions on Wednesday and Thursday, with both central banks expected to leave rates unchanged," RMB analyst Mpho Tsebe said in a note. "The key focus will be on the members' assessment of economic activity and appropriate monetary policy path."
In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark 10-year bond was down 4 basis points at 8.535 percent. On the bourse, stocks were dragged lower by a drop in gold mining shares after the bullion price fell. The benchmark Top-40 index closed 0.35 percent lower at 52,385, while the broader All-Share index fell 0.39 percent to 58,662.
Shares in AngloGold Ashanti fell more than 4 percent while those in Goldfields slipped nearly 3 percent.
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