The South African (SA) Rand edged up in early trade on Friday as traders awaited the release of monthly economic data from the Central bank, revenue service agency and National Treasury for clues on the health of Africa’s largest economy.
Rand traded at 15.8725 against the Dollar, up roughly 0.3% from Thursday’s close.
The Dollar was flat against a basket of currencies, with gold, a major SA export, also broadly steady but set for its seventh straight month of gains.
Data from the SA Reserve Bank showed that M3 money supply growth last month was 7.44%, down from 8.16% in December.
Private sector credit growth for January was 8.83%, well above December’s 8.74% but below the 8.84% estimated in a Reuters poll.
Later in the day, SA’s revenue service agency and National Treasury are expected to publish trade and budget balance data respectively.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index was last up 1.1%.
SA’s benchmark 2035 government bond was slightly stronger in early deals as the yield dropped by 1.5 basis points to 7.87%.
–Reuters–
