The rand was little changed against the dollar on Monday and is expected to take its direction this week from the medium-term budget policy statement on Wednesday as well as US unemployment data.
The rand was at 9.7800 to the dollar at 0632 GMT, in line with Friday’s close in New York.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan will present the budget policy statement to parliament on Wednesday and market participants will be looking for signs the government is serious about reducing its twin budget and current account deficits.
Statistics South Africa will also release September consumer inflation data on Wednesday, although that is not expected to have a significant impact on the rand.
In the United States, some economic data delayed by the government shutdown are expected to be released this week, including non-farm payrolls on Tuesday. The numbers will be closely watched for clues about the health of the US economy.
“The potential exists for some negative data to be released out of the US and for the mini-budget to flag some risks pertaining to South Africa. It is not the kind of environment where significant further rand strength is anticipated,” Tradition Analytics wrote in a research note.
The yield on the 2026 government bond inched up 2 basis points to 7.755 % while that on the 2015 paper was 4.5 basis points lower at 5.765 %.
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