JOHANNESBURG, Nov 18 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand jumped on Monday, as markets welcomed rating agency S&P's decision to raise the country's credit rating outlook.

At 1538 GMT, the rand traded at 18.02 against the dollar , about 1.1% stronger than its previous close.

S&P revised South Africa's outlook to "positive" from "stable" on Friday, citing plans for accelerated economic reforms by the government of national unity and a pickup in private investments.

"S&P has removed the large political risk component for SA, now that the GNU has proved stable, which has allowed the outlook to brighten, on the increased political stability, and so expected stronger investment and growth," Annabel Bishop, chief economist at Investec, said in a research note.

Local investor focus this week will be on October inflation figures and an interest rate decision by the South African Reserve Bank.

The SARB is expected to cut rates by 25 basis points on Thursday.

"While a rate cut would align with easing global monetary policies, the SARB is likely to maintain a cautious approach to ensure currency stability and control inflation expectations amid recent ZAR volatility," said Andre Cilliers, currency strategist at TreasuryONE.

On the stock market, the Top-40 (.JTOPI) , opens new tab index closed 0.6% up.

South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was stronger, with the yield down 2.7 basis points to 9.123%.

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https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/south-african-rand-firms-sp-outlook-upgrade-2024-11-18/