South African rand gains ahead of leading indicator

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The South African rand was stronger in early trade on Tuesday on U.S. Treasury yield volatility and ahead of the release of a leading business cycle indicator.

At 0615 GMT, the rand traded at 18.8650 against the dollar, more than 0.5% stronger than its previous close.

The dollar last traded around 0.1% weaker against a basket of global currencies.

"As things stand, USD/ZAR still biased lower. But US yield volatility offers... risks," said Rand Merchant Bank analysts in a morning briefing.

U.S. Treasury yields jumped briefly above 5% on Monday but have since pulled back, while investors await economic data for guidance on interest rates and monitor tensions in the Middle East.

At 0700 GMT, the South African Reserve Bank will publish the country's leading indicator for August, which collects data on vehicle sales, business confidence, money supply and other factors.

That will help to gauge the outlook for Africa's most industrialised economy.

South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was flat in early deals at 10.825%.

(Reproting by Tannur Anders; Editing by Bhargav Acharya and Muralikumar Anantharaman)