JOHANNESBURG: The South African rand steadied against the dollar on Thursday and should find respite from the closure of US markets for a holiday after being buffeted towards two-week lows overnight.
However, the rand remains vulnerable in the long-term to gaping deficits in the national budget and current account, which has earned it a position in the so-called "fragile five" group of emerging markets along with Turkey, India, Brazil and Indonesia.
The rand traded at 10.2325 by 0659 GMT, virtually unchanged from Wednesday's New York close at 10.2300.
"Dollar/rand has pushed into the 10.20's because of the renewed pressure on emerging market currencies but the Thanksgiving holiday should bring relief," said Rand Merchant Bank currency analyst John Cairns.
"The upside has been even more evident in euro/rand and above all sterling/rand," said Cairns.
Trade data due on Friday poses further risk for the local currency if the deficit comes out wider than expected.
Producer inflation due out at 0930 GMT should do little to move the market, although a higher-than expected year-on-year rate for October could reinforce expectations that the central bank could resume policy tightening next year.
Government bonds were steady on Thursday, with the yields for the benchmark bond due in 2026 and the 2015 bond at the short end of the curve each flat at 8.315 percent and 6.195 percent respectively.
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