Rand Holds Yesterday's Range, Domestic Data In Focus

Spot USD/ZAR has inched higher but stays within a familiar range, with participants weighing local data against the latest signals from China. The pair last deals at 19.2362, with bulls looking for a clean break above 19.3301, the 76.4% retracement of the Jun 1 - Jul 27 downleg. The initial layer of support is provided by Aug 24 low of 18.3805.

• China released data overnight showing that its trade surplus was narrower than expected in August, albeit the contraction in imports was smaller than forecast, while commodities imports soared as the government's stimulus measures are filtering through into the economy. This could support ZAR sentiment to a degree, China being a top buyer of South African commodities (albeit familiar concerns about the Chinese economy remain).
• Economic sentiment in South Africa improved in Q3, according to the latest BER surveys. Business Confidence Index rose to 33 from 27, beating the Bloomberg median estimate of 30. Data released this morning subsequently showed that the Consumer Confidence Index recovered to -16 from -25 prior.
• The focus turns to South Africa's Q2 current account balance, due for release at 10:00BST/11:00SAST.