JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s rand slipped on Tuesday against the dollar, as the central bank warned core inflation in the country remained elevated and a leading business cycle indicator fell.
At 1530 GMT, the rand traded at 18.3825 against the dollar, about 1.35% weaker than its closing level on Monday.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, was last up around 0.57%.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) said in its April Monetary Policy Review that headline inflation had peaked but core inflation remained elevated, putting upward pressure on the consumer prices outlook.
Earlier in the day, the SARB’s leading indicator for February decreased 0.7% month on month, falling for the third consecutive month.
The indicator collects data on vehicle sales, business confidence, money supply and other factors to gauge the outlook for Africa’s most industrialised economy.
Rand moves could be volatile later this week as upcoming public holidays mean many traders will be away from their desks from Wednesday’s close until next Tuesday.
Globally, the investor mood was cautious in a busy week for corporate earnings and economic data.
Markets will look to coming U.S. data releases for clues about the Federal Reserve’s next policy moves and are also grappling with financial stability concerns highlighted by recent turmoil in U.S. and Swiss banks.
Shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange fell, with both the broader all-share index and the blue-chip Top-40 index ending nearly 0.3% lower.
South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker, with the yield up 4.5 basis points at 10.225%.
(Reporting by Tannur Anders and Bhargav AcharyaEditing by Alexander Winning and Mark Potter)
