South Africa’s rand traded a tad firmer against the dollar on Monday, with dealers and analysts expecting muted trade ahead of Tuesday’s U.S. election, whose outcome is seen as too close to call.
* At 0646 GMT, rand up 0.28 percent at 13.5675 to the dollar, after ending Friday’s session in New York at 13.6050.
* Currency unmoved by central bank data showing South Africa’s net foreign reserves fell slightly to $41.799 billion in October from $41.953 billion the previous month.
* Rand holds its own despite a newspaper report that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan will be charged over a surveillance unit at the tax agency he once ran. Report comes six days after separate charges were dropped against Gordhan.
* Stock futures index up 1 percent, suggesting Johannesburg bourse will start the week on a strong note at 0700 GMT.
* Government bonds rise slightly in early trade, yield for 10-year debt down 3.5 basis points to 8.665 percent compared with Friday’s close.