JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand was steady on Monday after the release of a sluggish manufacturing purchasing managers’ index survey and vehicle sales numbers for the month of October.
At 1225 GMT, the rand traded at 17.3075 against the dollar, roughly up 0.1% on Friday’s close.
South Africa’s manufacturing sentiment deteriorated in October, dragged down by subdued domestic demand and sluggish exports, a PMI survey showed on Monday.
Investec economist Lara Hodes expected sentiment to ease due to lacklustre domestic activity as structural issues persist.
Local investors also looked at vehicle sales data, which showed that new vehicle sales rose to 55,956 units in October 2025, the highest monthly total since March 2015. That represented an increase of 7,734 units, or 16.0%, compared with the 48,222 recorded in October 2024.
“Fuel costs remained relatively contained, while competitive pricing and softer vehicle inflation continued to support affordability in select segments amid heightened competition in the passenger market. This softening inflation trajectory supports real disposable income gains”, the Automotive Business Council said in a statement.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index was last down 0.1%.
In fixed income, government bonds hardly moved as the yield for debt maturing in 2035 fell 1 basis point to 8.85%.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov and Anathi Madubela; editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Mark Heinrich)
