South African rand steady ahead of inflation, retail sales data
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 20 (Reuters) -South Africa's rand was little changed early on Wednesday ahead of highly anticipated local inflation and retail sales data.
At 0851 GMT, the rand traded at 18.05 against the dollar ZAR=D3, not far from its previous close.
Trade in the local currency has been volatile in recent sessions as risk appetite waned amid escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
Local investor focus will be on Statistics South Africa, which will release October inflation figures at 0800 GMT and retail sales data at 1100 GMT.
Economists polled by Reuters expect annual inflation to have cooled down to 3.1% last month, towards the lower end of the South African Reserve Bank's (SARB) preferred 3%-6% target range.
The SARB will announce its final monetary policy decision for the year on Thursday, with markets bracing for an interest rate cut of 25 basis points.
"Investors will focus on the SARB’s future guidance and the inflation outlook, which could influence bond yields and the ZAR," Andre Cilliers, currency strategist at TreasuryONE, said.
South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond ZAR2030= was marginally stronger in early deals, with the yield down 1 basis point to 9.1%.
Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Andrew Heavens
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