South African rand weaker ahead of US Fed's June meeting minutes

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa's rand weakened against a stronger dollar on Wednesday as traders awaited minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's June policy meeting for clues on the interest rates outlook.

At 1624 GMT, the rand traded at 18.7650 against the dollar, 0.4% weaker than its previous close.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, was up around 0.2% at 103.26.

"Today's FOMC minutes will be more about how hawkish the statement is relative to what is priced in rather than just a reaction on whether the central bank is hawkish," ETM Analytics said in a research note.

Federal Reserve policymakers opted to leave the policy rate unchanged last month, but signaled they may raise interest rates at least twice more by the year's end.

Locally, S&P Global survey showed South Africa's private sector activity contracted again in June as higher prices continued to weigh on business demand.

On the stock market, the Top-40 and the broader all-share indices closed around 0.4% lower.

South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was slightly stronger in afternoon deals, with the yield down 2.5 basis points to 10.515%.

(Reporting by Tannur Anders; Editing by Bhargav Acharya and Louise Heavens)