South Africa’s rand steadies, market awaits MPC

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand was largely steady on Monday, with direction likely to be driven by global market moves as investors speculate on the timing of policy tightening in the United States.

On the domestic front, market players anticipated few ripples from the South African Reserve Bank’s interest rate decision on Thursday, where the benchmark repo rate will likely stay unchanged at 5.75 percent.

At 0631 GMT, the rand was just 0.16 percent softer at 12.0300 to the dollar compared with Friday’s close at the New York session.

Government bonds edged higher, pulling the yield on debt due in 2026 half a basis point lower to 7.735 percent.

“Euro/dollar remains the main market driver, not just of global currencies but increasingly also of interest rates, as markets digest whether Fed (U.S. Federal Reserve) tightening will be delayed because of the dollar’s remarkable gains,” RMB analyst John Cairns said.