JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand was flat for much of Monday’s trading session as investors awaited domestic inflation data and an interest rate decision later this week.
At 1324 GMT, the rand traded at 17.0775 against the U.S. dollar, at the same level as Friday’s close as traders shrugged off S&P Global’s first credit upgrade of South Africa in nearly 20 years.
“The muted reaction reflects that the move was largely priced in, though the upgrade, combined with Treasury’s backing of a 3% inflation target, supports SA’s longer-term risk profile,” said Wichard Cilliers, head of market risk at TreasuryONE, in a note.
This week’s economic calendar will feature October consumer inflation figures and September retail sales data on Wednesday, followed by the central bank’s interest rate decision on Thursday.
Economists polled by Reuters expect that the Monetary Policy Committee will cut its main lending rate by 25 basis points to 6.75%.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index was flat though the benchmark 2035 government bond was firmer, with the yield falling 4 basis points to 8.615%.
(Reporting by Anathi Madubela and Sfundo Parakozov;Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus, William Maclean)
