JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand was steady in early trade on Monday as investors remained cautious about renewed U.S.-China trade tensions and expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts with the U.S shutdown entering its thirteenth day.
At 0826 GMT the rand traded at 17.3175 against the dollar, about 1% firmer than Friday’s close.
Like other risk-sensitive currencies, the rand often takes cues from global drivers such as U.S. policy and economic data.
“Risk appetite appears to be back at this week’s start, so one should expect the ZAR to make a modest recovery,” said ETM Analytics in a research note.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of currencies, traded up 0.1%.
Domestically-focused investors will look to a business confidence index, mining production data and retail sales figures this week for clues to the health of Africa’s largest economy.
“A harsh reminder of the opportunity cost SA has suffered will likely come in the form of the latest mining production data later this week, highlighting SA’s inability to take advantage of the commodity price boom,” said ETM Analytics.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index was up 0.2% in early trade.
South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond edged up in early deals, as the yield fell 2 basis points to 9.105%.
(Reporting by Anathi Madubela; Editing by William Maclean)
