South African rand slips as investors focus on Fed symposium

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The South African rand weakened on Thursday, as investors looked to the U.S. Federal Reserve's annual Jackson Hole symposium for clarity on the economic outlook and policy direction.

At 1601 GMT the rand traded at 17.7550 against the dollar ZAR=D3, 0.5% weaker than its previous close.

"Interestingly, neither the Fed minutes nor the domestic inflation data did much to change sentiment in the USD-ZAR, with the pair trading in a relatively tight range," ETM Analytics said in a note.

It was referring to the minutes of the Fed's July meeting which showed that two Federal Reserve policymakers favoured lowering interest rates, while the central bank ultimately decided to keep rates unchanged.

ETM added that the rand is still looking for a catalyst to drive directional momentum.

Africa's most industrialised economy reported on Wednesday a rise in consumer inflation to 3.5% in July, compared to 3.0% from the previous month, as higher food and fuel prices weighed.

"At the moment, there is no good reason to adopt any significant directional momentum as investors wait for further central banking guidance," the ETM note said.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to speak on Friday at the August 21 to 23 event, with investors watching whether he backs measures to bolster the labor market or focuses on curbing inflation.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Top-40 .JTOPI index was up about 0.7%.

South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond ZAR2035= was stronger, as the yield fell 2.5 basis points to 9.605%.