South African rand little changed ahead of rate decision

JOHANNESBURG, July 18 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand was little changed on Thursday, ahead of an interest rate decision by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).

At 0903 GMT, the rand traded at 18.1900 against the dollar, not far from its previous close of 18.1950.

The SARB’s monetary policy committee will announce its rate decision later on Thursday and provide an update on South Africa’s economic outlook.

It is expected to leave its repo rate unchanged at 8.25%, according to economists polled by Reuters, but cut rates by 25 basis points to 8.00% in September as inflation cools.

Investor focus will also be on a speech by President Cyril Ramaphosa later in the evening, when he is expected to outline the priorities of the newly formed broad coalition government.

On the stock market, the Top-40 index was last up 0.4%.

South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker in early deals, with the yield up 2.5 basis points to 9.625%.

(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Janane Venkatraman )