JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand regained some ground against a weaker dollar on Monday ahead of a flurry of economic data releases this week from the world’s biggest economy.
At 1506 GMT, the rand traded at 18.5350 against the dollar, about 0.6% stronger than its previous close.
The dollar was last down about 0.8% against a basket of currencies after a report said U.S. President-elect Donald Trump was mulling tariffs that would only be applied to critical imports. Trump denied the Washington Post report.
Investor focus this week will be on a slew of U.S. data releases, the Federal Reserve’s December meeting minutes, and comments from its officials, which could shed light on the future path of interest rates.
Like other risk-sensitive currencies, the rand often takes cues from global drivers such as U.S. monetary policy in the absence of major local factors.
Domestically, South Africa’s private sector activity contracted in December for the first time since August, with muted demand and rising inflationary pressure weighing on growth, a survey showed on Monday.
On the stock market, the Top-40 index was little changed.
South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was flat, with the yield at 9.03%.
(Reporting by Tannur Anders and Bhargav Acharya. Editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter)
