The South African rand gained in early trade on Thursday before the release of domestic manufacturing data, while investors also kept a close tab on trade negotiations after US President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats.

At 0635 GMT the rand traded at 17.7350 against the dollar, up roughly 0.6% from Wednesday's close.

Statistics South Africa will publish May manufacturing output at 1100 GMT.

Production fell 6.3% year-on-year in April, but analysts polled by Reuters and Nedbank economists expect it to have fallen by a smaller margin this time around of 1.5% and 0.5% respectively.

"While the monthly data may show some improvement, underlying conditions remain weak" Nedbank economists said in a note.

The note also referenced a purchasing managers' index released last week that showed tentative improvement in manufacturing sentiment, though output is still weak and logistics bottlenecks remain.

"The sector continues to grapple with excess capacity amid subdued global and domestic demand and weak commodity prices," the note said.

South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond was little changed in early deals. The yield rose half a basis point to 9.845%.