JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand was little changed on Wednesday after strengthening more than 1 percent against the dollar the previous day as tensions between Ukraine and Russia eased.
The rand was at 10.7750 to the dollar at 0649 GMT, 0.1 percent softer than Tuesday's New York close.
Its gains on Tuesday came after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would use force in Ukraine only as a last resort, lifting stock markets and risky assets around the world after a panic sell-off on Monday.
South Africa's Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) also said on Tuesday it had revised its wage demands to the world's top platinum producers, its first major concession as a sector-wide strike enters its sixth week.
Upbeat Australian economic data on Wednesday, showing that the resource-rich economy grew by 0.8 percent in the last quarter, could provide further support for riskier assets.
"This should release some of the pressure built up in risky assets from the Ukraine crises this morning however having said that we are but one headline away from a return to panic," Standard Bank trader Warrick Butler wrote in a morning note.
Government bonds were steady, with the yield on the 2026 government bond unchanged at 8.585 percent and that on the 2015 paper 1 basis point lower at 7.12 percent.
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