JOHANNESBURG-Rand steadied against the dollar in early trade on Monday, holding gains from the previous session that were spurred by a combination of the trade balance remaining in surplus and growth in private sector credit demand.
At 0643 GMT, the rand traded at 13.5700 per dollar, compared with its New York close of 13.5600 on Friday.
On Friday, data showed South Africa recorded a seventh consecutive trade surplus in August, at nearly 6 billion rand, while growth in private-sector credit demand quickened.
Focus this week on new vehicle sales data for September due out on Monday, Standard Bank whole economy purchasing managers’ index to be released on Wednesday and business confidence index for September due on Thursday.
The South African Reserve Bank will publish gross gold and forex reserves data on Friday.
Stocks were set to open higher at 0700 GMT, with the JSE securities exchange’s Top-40 futures index up 0.5 percent.
In fixed income, the yield for the benchmark government bond due in 2026 was up 3 basis points to 8.59 percent.
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