JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s rand weakened in early trade on Tuesday, as the US dollar rose amid expectation of aggressive rate hikes and ongoing geopolitical tensions.

At 0703 GMT, the rand traded at 18.1300 against the US dollar, 0.28% weaker than its previous close.

US dollar index was up around 0.2% at 113.28, inching toward the 20-year high of 114.78 it touched late last month.

“The pair is poised to test technical resistance around 18.2200 again, with a break of this level likely to open the door for a continuation of its broader uptrend towards 18.5000 and beyond,” economists at ETM Analytics said.

South African rand flat in early trade

Local investors will be looking at August industrial production figures at 1100 GMT for clues on the health of the economy. In the stock market, the Top-40 index was down more than 1%, while the broader all-share dropped 0.83% in early trade.

The government’s benchmark 2030 bond was weaker in early deals, with the yield up 3.5 basis points to 10.755%.