South Africa's rand gains 1.4 percent against dollar

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand gained over 1.4 percent against the dollar on Monday as investors bought risky assets, encouraged by a German and French pledge over the weekend to shore up banks.

The rand was trading at 7.89 to the dollar at 0620 GMT, 1.38 percent firmer than Friday's New York close of 8.00. It briefly hit a session high of 7.8827.

Bonds followed suit, with the yield on the 2015 issue down five basis points to 6.69 percent and that on the 2026 bond falling by 5.5 basis points to 8.385 percent.