Johannesburg - South Africa's rand was largely flat against the dollar on Wednesday with scope to lose some ground on the back of what is likely to be weak retail sales data later in the day.
Economists polled by Reuters expected retail sales growth to remain depressed at 1.1 percent year-on-year in August, another sign of an economy in dire straits, which could deter the central bank from hiking interest rates further next month.
Statistics South Africa was due to release the data at 11h00 GMT.
At 06h57 GMT, the rand was at 11.0600, little changed from Tuesday's close at 11.0500.
The yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2026 was similarly steady at 8.055 percent.
Local markets would this week continue to be driven by global trends, where investors are increasingly worried about weak economic growth prospects, keeping risk appetite in check, analysts said.
“Event risk is moderately high, focused on the euro zone. News from Europe remains poor,” RMB currency analysts John Cairns said.
On the domestic front, markets are looking to Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene's maiden budget statement to parliament next week for new forecasts on Africa's most advanced, but ailing economy.
Reuters