JOHANNESBURG: The South African rand firmed in early trade on Monday, with the dollar slightly weaker on bets that U.S. interest rates might have peaked.

At 0650 GMT the rand traded at 18.3500 against the dollar , up about 0.4% from its closing level on Friday.

The dollar was down more than 0.2% against a basket of major currencies.

Analysts said the rand would probably move mainly on global drivers this week, with the domestic data calendar relatively light.

The most likely local catalysts could come on Thursday, with release of March mining and manufacturing production numbers.

Data on Monday showed South Africa’s net foreign reserves rose to $55.370 billion at the end of April, from $55.229 billion in March, though there was little impact on the rand.

South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was slightly stronger in early deals, with the yield down 1.5 basis points at 10.115%.