JOHANNESBURG- South Africa's rand traded stronger early on Tuesday, before the release of central bank data which will shed light on the economic outlook.
At 0630 GMT, the rand traded at 14.6900 against the dollar, roughly 0.3% firmer than its previous close.
Around 0700 GMT the central bank will publish its composite leading business cycle indicator , which collects data including vehicle sales, business confidence and money supply in Africa's most industrialised nation.
The rand was supported on Monday by stronger precious metals prices, but gold XAU= , platinum XPT= and palladium XPD= all fell back on Tuesday.
On global markets, solid company earnings and a glimmer of improvement in U.S.-China trade ties lifted sentiment somewhat.
Later in the week domestic data releases include the producer price index on Thursday, as well as budget and trade numbers on Friday. Next week attention will turn to a municipal election on Monday which will gauge voter support for the governing African National Congress.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Stephen Coates)
