JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s rand was flat on Tuesday as traders gauged the effects of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, which risk sparking a multi-front trade war.
At 1506 GMT, the rand traded at 18.45 against the U.S. dollar, same as its previous close.
Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports on Monday to a flat 25% “without exceptions or exemptions”, aiming to benefit production in the world’s biggest economy.
ETM Analytics said in a research note that South Africa “will be minimally affected”.
“For now, the USD-ZAR will trade cautiously and without clear direction, until Trump’s policies are understood and the implications are more quantifiable than they are now,” the note added.
Earlier in the day, statistics agency data showed South Africa’s manufacturing output fell 1.2% year on year in December after declining by a revised 1.9% in November.
South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker, with the yield up 5 basis point to 9.15%.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Top-40 index closed 0.2% lower.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Tannur Anders, Ed Osmond and Mark Heinrich)
