Rand Loses Ground After Long Weekend

South Africa returns from its long weekend, with USD/ZAR ticking higher alongside some modest gains for the greenback this morning. The pair last deals at 18.9244, around 1,500 pips higher on the session, with bulls looking for a move through 19.3301, the 76.4% retracement of the Jun 1 - Jul 27 sell-off. Bears see Aug 24 low of 18.3805 as their initial target.

• SAGB yields are higher across the curve, playing catch-up with yesterday's moves in core markets. South Africa's 10-year breakeven inflation rate sits at 7.18% after printing its best levels since early June.
• The BBG Commodity Index has shed ~0.4% this morning, printing new one-month lows in the process, with the precious metals subindex down ~0.2% on the day.
• The SARB's leading indicator improved to 110.4 in July from the revised 110.3. However, the index remains in a downtrend since mid-2021.
• Later this week, the focus will turn to South African PPI & non-farm payrolls (Thursday) a swell as trade balance and budget balance (Friday).