South African rand stable as rising precious metals offset stronger dollar
Updates prices as of 1410 GMT, adds economist comment in paragraph 7
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The South African rand was little changed on Friday as stronger precious metal prices and the central bank's cautious approach to cutting interest rates offset a stronger dollar.
At 1410 GMT, the rand traded at 18.1025 against the U.S. dollar ZAR=D3, near Thursday's closing level of 18.0925.
The dollar was up about 0.3% on global markets =USD.
South Africa is a major producer of precious metals including platinum and gold, which advanced on Friday.
Gold prices were up about 0.8% after hitting a two-week peak and were headed for their best weekly performance in more than a year, as investors sought safe-haven assets as Russia-Ukraine tensionsescalated.
On Thursday,the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) opted for a small cut to its main interest rate ZAREPO=ECI, quashing hopes for a larger move, whilea decision by S&P Global last week toraise the outlook on South Africansovereign credit rating also boosted local sentiment.
Annabel Bishop, chief economist at Investec, called the SARB's approach"slow and steady" in a research note.
Analysts say the randremains highly sensitive to global drivers, including expectations for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's policies. It has lost almost 4% against the dollar since the Nov. 5 U.S. election,as emerging market currencies have come under pressure.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index .JTOPI was last up 0.1%. The benchmark 2030 government bond ZAR2030= slipped, with the yield up 3 basis points to 9.005%.
Reporting by Tannur Anders;
Editing by Alexander Winning and Kevin Liffey
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