JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand was broadly steady on Tuesday, ahead of several local data releases later this week.
At 1532 GMT, the rand traded at 17.75 against the dollar, near its Monday closing level of 17.7575.
South African investors will focus on July’s producer inflation data on Thursday and money supply, budget and trade balance data on Friday, which could give clues on the health of Africa’s most industrialised economy.
Like other risk-sensitive currencies, the rand could also take direction from global drivers.
“The dollar-rand has encountered tough support around the 17.7000 mark… It is as if the currency pair is waiting for a catalyst that will open the door for another leg of rand appreciation,” said ETM Analytics in a research note.
“In the short term, it is unclear what that might be.”
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Top-40 index closed about 0.5% higher.
South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker, as the yield climbed 3 basis points to 9.115%.
(Reporting by Tannur Anders with additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Jonathan Oatis)
