JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand was steady in early trade on Tuesday, after central bank data showed that the country’s foreign reserves increased last month.
At 0701 GMT the rand traded at 17.2050 against the dollar, little changed from Monday’s close.
South Africa’s net foreign reserves rose to $67.865 billion at the end of September from $65.899 billion in August.
Nedbank economists had expected the international liquidity position to only increase to $67.5 billion.
The dollar last traded 0.2% stronger against a basket of currencies, while gold hit a record high on Tuesday as uncertainty over the U.S. government shutdown kept traders on edge.
“Domestically, SA has struggled to take full advantage of the commodity boom cycle, but that does not mean it is not positively influencing the currency,” said ETM Analytics in a research note.
The currency has remained resilient despite investor concerns over the renewal of a flagship U.S. trade initiative with Africa called AGOA.
South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond was flat in early deals, as the yield rose half a basis point to 9.23%.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov; Editing by Toby Chopra)
