Rand starts week on back foot against dollar

The rand was on the back foot against the dollar early on Monday as investors awaited details on a new round of US tariffs against China later in the day and a local interest rates decision due on Thursday.

At 0650 GMT the rand was 0.69% weaker at 15.02 per dollar compared its close of 14.92 on Friday.

US President Donald Trump is likely to announce new tariffs on about $200 billion of Chinese imports as early as Monday, a senior administration official told Reuters.

This week investor attention also turns to the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb), which announces its interest rates decision on September 20.

All bar one of the economists polled by Reuters last week predicted that the Sarb would leave its main lending rate at 6.5%, as it weighs economic weakness against a pickup in inflation.

In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2026 was up 2.5 basis points to 9.200%.

Stocks were set to open lower at 0700 GMT, with the JSE securities exchange’s Top 40 Futures index down 0.63%.