JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The South African rand traded flat early Wednesday, taking a breather after a recovery rally in the previous session as the U.S. dollar weakened.
At 0715 GMT, the rand was trading at 15.2350 against the US currency, 0.1% weaker than the previous close.
With no major local data releases left this week, the rand is expected to get its opinion from global drivers.
Data on Tuesday showed that South Africa’s manufacturing output fell 3.5% year-on-year in November, more than expected, with a sharp decline in production by fuel, chemicals and furniture companies among others.
However, there was little impact on the rand as the figures only confirmed long-term concerns about the health of the region.
Despite gains of around 2% on Tuesday, the rand is still down more than 3% against a greenback this year as a new peak in daily COVID-19 issues and a bleak economic outlook have damaged it. feeling.
Government bonds rose higher early Wednesday, as yield on the 2030 benchmark instrument fell 3.5 basis points to 8.765%.
Reciting with Alexander Winning