JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand strengthened on Tuesday, after investors took stock of a series of delayed economic data from the United States.
As of 1432 GMT, the rand traded at 17.2350 against the dollar, roughly up 0.4% from Monday’s close.
The dollar weakened about 0.3% against a basket of currencies after data showed U.S. retail sales rose less than expected in September, suggesting that the economy was slowing down and supporting market expectations of a rate cut next month.
U.S. producer prices, on the other hand, advanced in September as expected.
Like other risk-sensitive currencies, the rand often takes cues from global drivers such as U.S. policy and economic data in addition to domestic releases.
South Africa’s composite leading business cycle indicator fell 1.2% month-on-month in September, central bank data showed on Tuesday.
The indicator compiles data on vehicle sales, business confidence, money supply and other factors to gauge the outlook for Africa’s biggest economy.
“The ZAR appears to be a passenger along for the ride at the moment, as none of the local developments are noteworthy enough to warrant a strong market reaction one way or the other,” ETM Analytics said in a research note.
Other economic releases for this week include producer inflation, due on Thursday, and credit, trade and budget data on Friday.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index was last up 0.3%.
South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond also gained with the yield falling 2.5 basis points to 8.61%.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Tomasz Janowski)
