South African Rand coins are seen in this illustration picture taken November 5, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/Illustration/File Photo
JOHANNESBURG, July 6 (Reuters) – The South African rand traded flat against the dollar on Monday, as markets awaited the Fed’s minutes this week for clues about the interest rate outlook.
New Chair Kevin Warsh has given little away so far, other than to say last week that anyone thinking the Fed may go easy on inflation, which he acknowledged had cooled recently, could be “disappointed”.
At 1411 GMT, the rand traded at 16.2450 against the dollar, little changed from its previous close.
In the absence of major domestic economic data, the South African rand, like other risk-sensitive currencies, tends to be driven by global factors, including U.S. economic data releases and policy developments.
The U.S. dollar last traded 0.2% stronger against a basket of currencies.
ETM Analytics said in a note that the rand’s near-term outlook had improved as the U.S. rate hike fears eased, but the currency’s strength was still being framed as conditional rather than structural.
“Whether investors still hold the same appetite to expose their portfolios to South Africa remains debatable,” it said.
The domestic economic calendar looks relatively thin this week, with June foreign reserves data expected on Tuesday and May manufacturing output on Thursday.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index was down 0.7%.
South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond strengthened, with the yield falling 2 basis points to 8.18%.
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