JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s rand weakened in early trade on Thursday, as the dollar steadied on higher US yields. At 0647 GMT, the rand traded at 18.2200 against the dollar, 0.58% weaker than its previous close. The dollar was up almost 0.3% against a basket of global currencies.

“The current debate is whether the inflation readings warrant interest rates remaining higher for longer or will need to rise a little further than anticipated,” ETM Analytics said in a note. Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari said on Wednesday he was “open-minded” on either a 25 basis point or a 50 basis point rate hike at the US central bank’s next meeting.

South African rand gains as China data boosts risk-taking

Stocks were set to open lower at 0700 GMT, with the JSE securities exchange’s Top-40 futures index down around 0.5%. The government’s benchmark 2030 bond was weaker in early deals, with the yield up 5 basis points to 10.140%.