JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand weakened against a stronger dollar on Thursday, with investors focused on the G20 meeting of finance chiefs in the country’s coastal city of Durban.
At 1436 GMT, the rand traded at 17.86 against the dollar, about 0.3% weaker than Wednesday’s close.
The dollar last traded about 0.3% firmer against a basket of currencies, following a turbulent session on Wednesday when U.S. President Donald Trump denied reports that he is planning to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
With a fairly muted domestic economic calendar, traders will keep a close eye on the meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors on Thursday and Friday.
South Africa urged G20 countries to show global and cooperative leadership to tackle challenges including rising trade barriers, as the finance chiefs met on Thursday under the shadow of Trump’s tariff threats.
Trump’s baseline 10% tariff on all U.S. imports and punitive rates targeting specific countries and products have created significant policy uncertainty globally.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Top-40 index was last up 0.3%.
South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond weakened sharply, as the yield rose 8 basis points to 9.96%.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov, Editing by Bernadette Baum and Timothy Heritage)
