Rand gains ahead of manufacturing, Q3 current account data

The rand strengthened in early trade on Thursday, ahead of much anticipated domestic third-quarter current account and October manufacturing data.

At 10:18, the rand traded at R17.16 against the dollar.

Local investor attention will be on third-quarter current account data and October manufacturing numbers due later in the day, which could give clues on the health of South African economy.

Economists polled by Reuters are predicting the current account deficit will narrow to 0.8% of gross domestic product and that manufacturing output will rise 4.5% year on year.

The dollar index was last trading up 0.08% at 105.21.

On the stock market, the Top 40 index and the broader all-share were both up 0.04% in early trade.

The government’s benchmark 2030 bond was lower in early deals, with the yield up 5 basis points to 10.510%.