Rand extends losses ahead of holiday

The South African rand slipped again in early trade on Tuesday, extending a run of weakness that began at the start of the month.

At 0613 GMT, the rand traded at R18.83 against the dollar. The South African currency has lost more than 5% against the greenback so far in August.

The dollar last traded around 0.15% stronger against a basket of global currencies.

“The rand underperformed again yesterday for no obvious reason,” Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) analysts said in a research note, adding that it was the worst performing currency on Monday.

With little local data and a public holiday on Wednesday, traders will turn their attention to Chinese and US inflation data due later this week.

“Data risks are low, and we do have a local holiday tomorrow, but volatility will probably continue nonetheless,” RMB added.

South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was almost unchanged in early deals, with the yield at 10.245%.