JOHANNESBURG, July 15 Reuters The South African rand weakened against the dollar on Monday, as the assassination attempt on former U.S. president Donald Trump dented appetite for riskier assets and spurred safehaven demand.

The risksensitive rand39;s fall was in line with moves seen in Asian emerging market currencies, as investors bet the attack would boost Trump39;s chances of winning November39;s U.S. election.

At 0845 GMT, the rand traded at 18.0575 to the dollar, about 0.6 weaker than the level it closed last week.

Andre Cilliers, currency strategist at TreasuryONE, said in a research note that the rand was expected to take its cue from the major global drivers for now.

This week39;s main domestic drivers will come on Thursday, when the South African Reserve Bank will announce its interest rate decision and President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver an address to parliament on his coalition government39;s priorities.

The former will be assessed for clues on the impact of the rand39;s recovery on monetary policy expectations and the timing of a rate cut. The latter will be the first indication of how well this government of national unity is functioning, ETM Analytics said.

On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange the Top40 index was down 0.5. The benchmark 2030 government bond was also weaker, as the yield rose 4.5 basis points to 9.52.

Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Andrew Heavens

Source Reuters