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Johannesburg - The rand edged weaker against the dollar ahead of a retail sales report on Wednesday, giving up the slight gains it made in the previous session after manufacturing output beat market expectations.
By 08:43 the local unit was 0.09% softer at R11.2300 per dollar from a New York close of R11.2200.
The currency inched away from support at R11.1500, with some traders seeing a resumption of last week's slide if the rand strayed beyond R11.3000.
"The rand's present underperformance offers a glimpse of the negativity still surrounding South Africa's fundamentals," ETM Analytics said in a note.
"What was telling yesterday was the very real lack of positive reaction to a manufacturing growth number of 8% year-on-year that matched September 2011 highs."
The rand tumbled to 5-week lows last week after ratings agency Moody's downgraded the country's credit status to Baa2, citing poor growth prospects and rising debt.
READ: Moody's downgrades SA credit rating
Direction on Wednesday was likely to come from domestic retail sales figures due at 13:00.
Economists polled by Reuters predicted a 2.8% year-on-year expansion in September sales, after the sector grew by 2.1% in August.
Government bonds were flat in morning trade with the yield on the benchmark issue due in 2026 unchanged at 7.945%.
By 08:43 the local unit was 0.09% softer at R11.2300 per dollar from a New York close of R11.2200.
The currency inched away from support at R11.1500, with some traders seeing a resumption of last week's slide if the rand strayed beyond R11.3000.
"The rand's present underperformance offers a glimpse of the negativity still surrounding South Africa's fundamentals," ETM Analytics said in a note.
"What was telling yesterday was the very real lack of positive reaction to a manufacturing growth number of 8% year-on-year that matched September 2011 highs."
The rand tumbled to 5-week lows last week after ratings agency Moody's downgraded the country's credit status to Baa2, citing poor growth prospects and rising debt.
READ: Moody's downgrades SA credit rating
Direction on Wednesday was likely to come from domestic retail sales figures due at 13:00.
Economists polled by Reuters predicted a 2.8% year-on-year expansion in September sales, after the sector grew by 2.1% in August.
Government bonds were flat in morning trade with the yield on the benchmark issue due in 2026 unchanged at 7.945%.
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