JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand was flat on Monday, with analysts saying credit rating reviews and retail sales data would be among the main domestic drivers this week.
At 1550 GMT, the rand traded at 17.2625 against the dollar, 0.07% weaker than its closing level on Friday.
The rand rallied last week, gaining more than 3% against the dollar as investors piled into riskier assets after a lower-than-expected U.S. inflation reading fostered hopes for less aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
This week, ratings agencies S&P Global and Moody’s are scheduled to review South Africa’s sovereign credit ratings, with their decisions expected on Friday.
An improved fiscal outlook in last month’s mid-term budget means the ratings agencies are likely to strike a positive tone in their reviews, but that may not translate into an upgrade yet.
September retail sales figures are due to be published on Wednesday, with analysts predicting a 1.0% year-on-year rise after a 2.0% rise the previous month.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index fell 0.25%.
Vodacom Group was the biggest faller, its shares down more than 6% after the South African telecoms operator’s half-year headline earnings dropped 9.5% due to start-up losses in Ethiopia and higher finance costs.
Among the gainers, shares in Shoprite Holdings rose almost 8% after South Africa’s biggest grocery retailer reported first-quarter sales growth of 18.6% as financially constrained consumers flocked to its budget chains for discounts.
The South African government’s benchmark 2030 bond was slightly weaker in afternoon deals, with the yield up 1.5 basis point to 10.205%.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning and Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Toby Chopra, William Maclean)
