JOHANNESBURG: The South African rand opened slightly stronger on Monday, supported by higher precious metals prices and erasing some of Friday's losses.

At 0624 GMT, the rand traded at 14.7950 against the dollar, around 0.2% firmer than its previous close.

Major South African exports gold and platinum were up 0.3%, lifted by a weaker dollar as investors assessed how the US Federal Reserve could respond to inflationary pressures.

Higher precious metals prices have helped cushion the economic shock from the COVID-19 pandemic by providing Africa's most industrialised nation with bumper tax receipts.

Domestic data releases this week include the central bank's leading indicator on Tuesday, the producer price index on Thursday, as well as budget and trade numbers on Friday.

Next week, attention will shift to a municipal election on Monday that will be a barometer of support for the governing African National Congress and the National Treasury's medium-term budget policy statement on Thursday.

The yield on the government's 2030 bond was at 9.585%, unchanged from its closing level on Friday.