JOHANNESBURG, April 24 (Reuters) - The South African
rand fell in early trade on Monday as the dollar advanced, at
the start of a week where trading could be thinner and market
conditions more volatile because of upcoming public holidays.
At 0625 GMT, the rand traded at 18.1350 to the dollar , down about 0.2% on its Friday close.
The U.S. currency was up 0.1% against a basket of rivals .
South Africa marks Freedom Day on Thursday, and with the
following Monday another public holiday, Workers' Day, many
local traders will be away from their desks from Wednesday's
market close until next Tuesday.
"It would make sense that market conditions will be much
thinner this week," ETM Analytics said in a research note.
This week's economic data releases include the central
bank's leading business cycle indicator for February on Tuesday, the March producer price index on Wednesday, and March money supply ,
trade and budget figures on Friday.
"Although none is typically market-moving, they could exert
some influence in thinned-out market conditions," ETM Analytics
said.
On global markets, the focus was on a slew of central bank
policy meetings that could signal how soon the steep increases
in interest rates globally might come to an end.
South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was
marginally weaker in early deals, with the yield up 1.5 basis
points to 10.135%.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning)
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