JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand was subdued in early trade on Tuesday ahead of the release of local central bank data that will shed light on the country’s economic outlook.
At 0617 GMT, the rand traded at 17.27 against the dollar, down 0.3% on Monday’s close.
At around 0700 GMT, the South African Reserve Bank will publish the country’s leading business cycle indicator for August, which collects data on vehicle sales, business confidence, money supply and other factors.
The risk-sensitive local currency traded weaker last week, but staged a recovery against the dollar on Monday on investor optimism over the country’s potential removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “grey” list.
South Africa in February 2023 was added on FATF’s list after criticism of its systems to stop money laundering terrorist financing. The watchdog’s plenary meeting takes place from October 22-24.
Domestically-focused investors will examine September consumer price inflation data on Wednesday for further clues on the health of Africa’s largest economy.
South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond was stronger in early deals, as the yield fell 1.5 basis points to 8.91%.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov;Editing by Andrew Heavens)
