JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand opened stronger on Tuesday, tracking the dollar which fell ahead of US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's congressional hearing later in the day.

Powell could give new clues about the timing and pace of policy normalisation by the US central bank.

At 0715 GMT, the rand traded at 15.6600 against the dollar, 0.1% stronger than its previous close. The dollar was down around 0.1% against a basket of currencies.

The rand has tended to track global factors in recent sessions, in the absence of major domestic drivers, and is highly sensitive to shifts in sentiment towards emerging markets.

Around 1100 GMT Statistics South Africa will release November manufacturing data.

Government bonds were slightly weaker in early deals, with the yield on the 2030 instrument rising 1.5 basis points to 9.500%.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange opened firmer, with the top 40 index up 0.66%.