JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s rand was slightly stronger against the dollar early on Friday, but remained rangebound after a US inflation report did little to change dynamics.

At 0620 GMT, the rand traded at 18.6000 against the dollar , about 0.3% stronger than its previous close.

It has traded around the 18.6 to 18.7 mark since Monday.

The dollar held steady against other major currencies on Friday, as investors weighed Thursday’s ambiguous US consumer price inflation report against market bets that the Federal Reserve will cut rates as soon as March.

South African rand tracks dollar ahead of US inflation data

“The (USD-ZAR) pair looks to close the week in a consolidative way, with one eye on the upcoming US PPI data for further guidance,” said analysts at ETM Analytics.

Trading in the rand is expected to gain momentum next week as schools reopen and the economy picks up after the holidays.

South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was stronger in early deals, with the yield down 4.5 basis points to 9.690%.