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South African rand steady as investors eye developments with US; domestic PPI data awaited - REUTERS
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 27 (Reuters) – The rand held steady in early trade on Thursday, as cautious traders awaited further updates after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would not invite South Africa to the G20 summit next year.
At 0603 GMT the rand traded at 17.13 against the dollar, near its previous close, with the greenback also little changed against a basket of currencies.
Trump said on Wednesday that South Africa will not be invited to take part in next year’s G20 summit in Florida after Washington boycotted the leaders’ summit in Johannesburg last week, which South Africa called a “punitive” measure against it.
Traders will also keep tabs on the October domestic producer inflation figures, due at 0930 GMT, which will provide insights into price pressures in Africa’s most industrialised economy.
Economists polled by Reuters expect year-on-year producer inflation to rise to 3.1% from 2.3% in September, slightly wider than Nedbank’s prediction of an increase to 2.9%.
“Fuel and food remain the key drivers,” Nedbank economists said in a note.
Investor attention will shift to credit, trade and budget data on Friday.
South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond was flat in early deals, with the yield at 8.572%.
