The South African rand gained early Monday against a weaker dollar, as investors braced for the election of the next U.S. president and the Federal Reserve's interest rate announcement this week.
At 0613 GMT, the rand was trading at 17.5250 against the US dollar, around 0.8% stronger than its previous close.
The dollar last traded about 0.2% weaker against a basket of currencies.
“The US presidential election on November 5 is the main event this week, overshadowing even the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision two days later,” said Jee-A van der Linde, senior economist at Oxford Economics in a research note.
As the world's largest economy goes to the polls on Tuesday, Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris are virtually tied in opinion polls.
On Thursday, markets will focus on the Fed's latest interest rate decision, where investors expect a 25 basis point cut.
“These developments will be the main drivers of financial markets,” added van der Linde.
South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was unchanged in early trading, yielding 9.32%.
