JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand eased in muted early trade on Wednesday, before the release of local inflation data which will influence the central bank’s thinking at its rate-setting meeting next month.
The rand was at 17.71 against the dollar by 0606 GMT, 0.1% softer than Tuesday’s close.
Statistics South Africa will release July consumer inflation data at 0800 GMT, which will help investors gauge the health of Africa’s most industrialised economy and give a steer on the central bank’s next monetary policy move.
Economists polled by Reuters predicted that inflation will rise to 3.5% year-on-year, up from 3.0% in June.
The dollar last traded flat against a basket of currencies as traders awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole Symposium for policy cues.
South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond was also little changed in early deals, with the yield at 9.655%.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
