The South African (SA) Rand held steady in early Tuesday trade, even as investors sought safe-haven assets amid escalating ​United States (US) and Israeli strikes on Iran and ‌fears the conflict could broaden into a longer regional war and add to market uncertainty.

Rand traded at 16.1475 against the US Dollar , little ​changed from Monday’s close of 16.1175.

“At this stage, the ⁠Rand is sitting on the sidelines, as attention ​is on the EUR and JPY because they ​import a great deal of oil and gas,” said Adam Phillips, treasury specialist at Umkhulu Treasury.

The Dollar firmed 0.2% ​against a basket of currencies, with gold, a major SA export, extending gains.

Like other risk-sensitive currencies, ‌the ⁠rand often takes cues from global drivers such as US policies, in addition to domestic economic data.

SA’s benchmark 2035 government bond was also ​flat in ​early deals, ⁠with the yield at 8.16%.

Phillips said there are worries that the conflict could drive ​up inflation, and economists are now expecting ​fewer ⁠interest rate cuts over the next six months.

“I would be surprised to see the RAand break ⁠below ​16.00, just because of its ​beta status, but for the moment, 16.22 is the resistance level,” he ​noted.

–Reuters–