Rand flat

The rand was flat in early trade on Wednesday ahead of the release of domestic inflation figures that could provide clues on the health of the economy.

At 0554 GMT, the rand steadied against the US dollar, still trading at its overnight closing level of 17.25 per dollar.

October consumer inflation numbers are due to be released around 0800 GMT, with analysts polled by Reuters expecting headline inflation to dip to 7.4% in annual terms from 7.5% in September.

“This is broadly consistent with in-house models, which suggest that inflation has peaked and that the bias is to the downside from here,” ETM Analytics said in a research note.

In early November, the central bank governor said South Africa needed to get inflation expectations more anchored around the midpoint of its 3%-6% target range as it still had space to raise interest rates.

The government’s benchmark 2030 bond was almost unchanged in early deals, with the yield at 10.290%.