The South African rand weakened slightly to around 17.4 per USD, amid an uptick in the US dollar and declining prices of key precious metals, including palladium, platinum and gold. The pullback came as US-China trade concerns eased, with President Trump calling a proposed 100% tariff on Chinese goods “unsustainable” ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi. Meanwhile, local investors shifted their focus to the release of September consumer price inflation next week for clues about inflationary pressures in the country, with analysts anticipating a slight acceleration to 3.5% from 3.2% in August.