The South African rand was little changed in early trade on Thursday, with comments by Federal Reserve officials and a Bank of England (BoE) policy decision later in the day among major global market drivers.

No major South African economic data releases are due on Thursday.

At 0615 GMT, the rand traded at 16.7450 against the U.S. dollar, not far from its previous close of 16.7400.

This week several Fed officials have pushed back against suggestions they will slow the pace of their interest rate hikes, supporting the dollar. Later on Thursday the BoE is expected to raise rates by a bigger 50 basis points as it battles soaring inflation.

On Tuesday, the rand fell sharply in risk-off trade linked to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. But it recovered some ground on Wednesday.

Some traders use the rand as a proxy for emerging market risk, so it is highly susceptible to swings in global investor sentiment.

The South African government's benchmark 2030 bond was stronger in early deals, with the yield falling 8.5 basis points to 10.265%. (Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)


Reuters