JOHANNESBURG: The South African rand slipped in early trade on Tuesday against a slightly stronger dollar, as a central bank leading business cycle indicator fell.

At 0645 GMT, the rand traded at 18.1750 against the dollar , about 0.2% weaker than its closing level on Monday.

The dollar index , which measures the greenback against six rivals, was up around 0.1%.

The South African Reserve Bank’s leading indicator for February (ZALEAD=ECI) decreased 0.7% month on month, falling for the third consecutive month.

The indicator collects data on vehicle sales, business confidence, money supply and other factors to gauge the outlook for Africa’s most industrialised economy.

Rand moves could be volatile later this week as upcoming public holidays mean many traders will be away from their desks from Wednesday’s close until next Tuesday.

Globally, the investor mood was cautious in a busy week for corporate earnings and economic data.

Markets will look to coming U.S. data releases for clues about the Federal Reserve’s next policy moves and are also grappling with financial stability concerns highlighted by recent turmoil in U.S. and Swiss banks.

South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was little changed in early deals, the yield up 0.5 basis points at 10.185%.