Johannesburg - The rand was largely steady on Monday, with direction likely to be driven by global market moves as investors speculate on the timing of policy tightening in the United States.
On the domestic front, market players anticipated few ripples from the South African Reserve Bank's interest rate decision on Thursday, where the benchmark repo rate will likely stay unchanged at 5.75%.
At 08:31, the rand was just 0.16% softer at R12.0300/$ compared with Friday's close at the New York session.
Government bonds edged higher, pulling the yield on debt due in 2026 half a basis point lower to 7.735%.
"Euro/dollar remains the main market driver, not just of global currencies but increasingly also of interest rates, as markets digest whether Fed (US Federal Reserve) tightening will be delayed because of the dollar’s remarkable gains," RMB analyst John Cairns said.