South Africa's rand hits 16-month high vs dollar

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand touched a 16-month high against the dollar early on Wednesday on improved risk appetite, with investors eyeing a batch of domestic and U.S. economic data due out later in the day for fresh catalysts. * At 0645 GMT, the rand traded at 13.0925 per dollar,largely unchanged from its New York close on Tuesday. The unithit 13.0450 earlier in the session, its firmest level since Oct.16, 2015. * Focus is on both local and U.S. consumer inflation andretail sales data due out later in the day. * "Today we get some decent data out of both the U.S. andSouth Africa. Local CPI should show a marginal decline whichshould pull in some interest for bonds again, whilst the U.S.retail sales numbers are bound to create some volatility,"Standard Bank chief currency trader Warrick Butler wrote in anote. * Stocks were set to open higher at 0700 GMT, with the JSEsecurities exchange's Top-40 futures index up 0.57 percent. * In fixed income, the yield for the benchmark governmentbond due in 2026 dipped 2 basis points to 8.61 percent. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)