The South African (SA) Rand was steady in early trade on Wednesday as ​traders cautiously assessed geopolitical developments after ‌Iran accused the United States (US) of violating a fragile ceasefire by launching attacks near the Strait of ​Hormuz.

The Rand traded ​at 16.3650 against the Dollar, little changed ⁠from its previous close of 16.3750.

The ​greenback last traded flat against a basket of ​currencies.

“We are stuck in a narrow range until we get some more interesting data from the US ​tomorrow and our own SA Reserve Bank ​makes a decision on rates. Even then, I don’t ‌see ⁠much of a move. As usual, everything centres on the Gulf,” Adam Phillips, Treasury Specialist at Umkhulu Treasury, wrote in a ​note.

On Thursday, domestic ​investor ⁠attention will mainly be pinned on the SA Reserve Bank’s ​interest rate decision, when economists polled ​by ⁠Reuters expect the bank to hike the rate by 25 basis points to 7% from ⁠6.75%.

SA’s benchmark 2035 government bond ​was also flat in early deals, with the yield ​at 8.54%.

–Reuters–