Rand weaker on China-US trade deal delay

South Africa’s rand ended flat on Monday, with trading subdued by the trade deal stalemate between China and the United States.

At 1530 GMT the rand was 0.05% weaker at 14.85, clawing back some ground from a session-low of 14.95.

Read: Traders least bearish on rand in 13 years as Moody’s priced in

“The rand has renewed weakness over the weekend and into the early part of Monday following the ongoing US-China trade narrative, with weak economic data warning of its impact in the global market place,” IG Markets analyst Shaun Murison said.

Officials from Beijing and Washington said late last week that a rollback of some tariffs had been agreed as part of a preliminary deal, but it had yet to be finalised.

South African bonds also weakened, with the yield on the benchmark due in 2026 adding 3.5 bps to 8.495%.

Stocks fell along with global equities as escalating violence in Hong Kong pushed Asian stocks to their worst day since August and stoked demand for yen and gold.

The benchmark JSE Top-40 Index was down 1.05% to 49 876.79 points, while the broader All-Share Index fell 0.96% to 56 071.43 points.

Shoprite and platinum miners Impala Platinum fell to the bottom of the blue-chip index, with the grocer down 2.76% to R134.01 and Impala falling 2.64%.

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However, gold miners were buoyed by a rise in gold prices off the back of fresh doubts over whether China and the US can strike a trade deal.

AngloGold Ashanti was up 0.25% to R283.72 while rival Gold Fields rose 0.12% to R76.54.