South African rand began trade on a bearish note on Thursday morning. Rand which is the local currency in South Africa started trading at 16.2175 against the dollar, ahead of monthly mining and manufacturing figures that could give clues on the health of the local economy.
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Rand achieved little improvement from its previous close of 16.2225 on Wednesday, 10th of Aug, 2022.
The dollar index =USD, which measures the currency against six rivals, was last trading at 105.28, after plunging overnight on a softer-than-expected U.S. inflation report.
The rand, which is highly susceptible to swings in global market sentiment, rose as much as 2.9% on Wednesday following the report.
Statistics South Africa will publish data on June mining ZAMNG=ECI at 0930 GMT and manufacturing ZAMAN=ECI at 1100 GMT.
The government’s benchmark 2030 bond ZAR2030= was slightly down in early deals, with the yield up 1.5 basis points to 10.030%.