JOHANNESBURG, March 4 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand firmed on Monday, ahead of gross domestic product (GDP) figures and a whole-economy purchasing managers' index (PMI) survey.

At 1514 GMT, the rand traded at 19.02 against the U.S. dollar , about 0.4% higher than its closing level on Friday.

The dollar was last down 0.08% against a basket of global currencies.

Statistics South Africa will release fourth-quarter GDP figures on Tuesday, which are expected to show growth after the economy recorded a minor contraction in the third quarter of last year.

Investor focus will also be on the S&P Global South Africa PMI out on Tuesday, which will shed light on business conditions in Africa's most industrialised economy in February.

Gold and forex reserves and current account data will also be released later this week.

Shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange ended slightly lower, with the blue-chip Top-40 index (.JTOPI) , opens new tab closing down 0.24%.

South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond slipped marginally, with the yield up 1 basis point at 10.120%.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/south-african-rand-unchanged-early-trade-2024-03-04/