JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand softened in early trade on Tuesday ahead of the return of U.S. traders from the Labor Day holiday.
At 0611 GMT, the rand traded at 17.6450 against the dollar, about 1% weaker than Monday’s close.
Global traders were still assessing Friday’s U.S. inflation figures and a court ruling that most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs are illegal, as well as his continuing tussle with the Fed over his attempt to fire Governor Lisa Cook.
Like other risk-sensitive currencies, the rand often takes cues from global drivers such as U.S. policy and economic data in the absence of major domestic economic releases.
South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond was also slightly weaker in early deals with the yield at 9.595%.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
