Rand steady ahead of current account data

The rand was steady in early trade on Thursday, ahead of the release of current account and local industrial data, which could give clues on the health of the economy.

At 0633 GMT, the rand traded at R17.25 against the dollar, not far from its previous close of R17.24.

South Africa’s central bank will publish second-quarter current account numbers at 11:00, while Statistics South Africa is set to release July industrial production figures at 13:00.

The dollar index, which measures the currency against six rivals, was last trading at 109.57, after hitting a peak of 110.79 on Wednesday, a level unseen since June 2002.

The government’s benchmark 2030 bond was higher in early deals, with the yield down 4.5 basis points to 10.330%.