South African rand flat as dollar soars, stocks edge lower

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand held steady on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar surged to new highs after a decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin to mobilise more troops for the conflict in Ukraine.

At 1711 GMT, the rand traded at 17.6950 against the dollar, 0.08% weaker than its previous close.

Putin on Wednesday called up 300,000 reservists to fight in Ukraine, propelling the dollar index, which measures the greenback's value against six major currencies, to 110.87, its strongest level since 2002.

Local data showed on Wednesday that headline consumer inflation eased to 7.6% year on year in August from 7.8% in July.

However, analysts polled by Reuters had forecast consumer price inflation of 7.5%.

"Inflationary pressures ease, albeit by slightly less than the markets expected," Nedbank economists said in a research note, adding that upward pressure came from food and non-alcoholic beverage prices.

On the stock market, the Top-40 index was down 0.5% while the broader all-share ended 0.59% lower.

The South African government's benchmark 2030 bond was stronger in afternoon trade, pushing the yield down 2.5 basis points to 10.510%.

(Reporting by Alexander Winning and Anait Miridzhanian, Editing by Kirsten Donovan)