Johannesburg - South Africa's rand traded
a tad weaker against the dollar on Wednesday in a market braced
for a US Federal Reserve interest rate hike.
At 0647 GMT, the rand was at 13.6550 to the greenback, down 0.37
percent from its New York close at 13.6050 on Tuesday.
Consumer inflation data at 0800 GMT expected to have
little impact, but will keep door open for South African Reserve
Bank to hike domestic rates in January if it pulls further above
3-6 percent target band.
The rand is still on track to end the year up more than 13
percent versus the dollar, which would be its first annual gain
since 2010, helped mainly by investors' search for yield in
emerging markets.
Stock futures index edged up 0.28 percent, pointing to a
slightly firmer start for Johannesburg bourse.
Government bonds retreat in early trade, pushing yield for
10-year debt up 4 basis points to 8.94 percent.