JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand was steady in early trade on Thursday as safe havens like gold – which renewed a record high – became appealing amid trade frictions between Beijing and Washington.
At 0659 GMT the rand traded at 17.34 against the dollar, little changed from Wednesday’s close.
On Wednesday the U.S. slammed China’s expanded rare‑earth export controls as a supply-chain threat and hinted at retaliation; on Tuesday, both countries imposed reciprocal port fees on each other’s ships.
Like other risk-sensitive currencies, the rand often takes cues from global drivers such as U.S. policy and economic data.
“The USD-ZAR appears to have gathered itself and is trading in a tighter range,” ETM Analytics said in a research note. It added that the rand appears to be waiting for a fresh catalyst related to rising U.S.-China tensions and the impact this could have on U.S. stock markets for direction.
“The more subdued the risk aversion, the greater the probability that the ZAR will resume its appreciative bias.”
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index was last up 0.1% in early trade.
South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond was firmer in early deals, as the yield fell 3.5 basis points to 9.01%.
(Reporting by Anathi Madubela; editing by Mark Heinrich)
