Rand steadies, focus on local rates decision

South Africa's rand was steady early on Thursday but looked vulnerable to a strengthening dollar and a local interest-rate decision due later in the day.

Minutes of the Federal Reserve's April meeting released overnight "were very hawkish and expectations of a U.S. rate hike in June appears to be back on the table, which in turn has favoured the dollar," Nedbank Capital analysts Mohammed Nalla and Reezwana Sumad said in a note.

"Local focus will be on the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) monetary policy committee meeting later this afternoon. Ahead of the SARB meeting we expect liquidity to remain at a premium."

Economists said a slowdown in South African inflation reported on Wednesday bolstered the case for leaving rates unchanged.

Stocks were set to open lower at 0700 GMT, with the JSE securities exchange's Top-40 futures index down 0.47 percent.

The yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2026 was down 1 basis point at 9.465 percent.