JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand weakened slightly against the dollar early on Tuesday and looked vulnerable ahead of economic growth data that is likely to validate the central bank's decision to keep interest rates unchanged last week.
The rand traded at 10.3650 to the dollar at 0630 GMT, 0.2 percent weaker than its close in New York on Monday.
The local currency could weaken out of Monday's range if economic growth data underperforms market expectations.
Investors will be focused on first quarter GDP numbers due at 0930 GMT.
The consensus is for growth to have contracted to 0.1 percent quarter-on-quarter.
The number will validate Governor Gill Marcus' decision to hold interest rates at 5.5 percent last week due to concerns about faltering growth.
In an otherwise uneventful monetary policy statement, the bank slashed its 2014 growth expectations to 2.1 percent from 2.6 percent, adding that GDP in the first three months of this year was expected to be the lowest quarterly expansion since a 2009 recession.
Government bonds mimicked the rand's slight weakness on Tuesday morning as traders also waited for the weekly sale of the government's 2030, 2037 and 2048 debt.
Results are due after auction closes at 0900 GMT.
The 2015 yield climbed 2 basis points to 6.65 percent and 4.5 basis points to 8.17 percent on the 2026 note.
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