Rand extends rally

The rand firmed in early trade on Friday, extending the previous session’s rally on lower than expected US inflation data that raised hopes the Federal Reserve could soon start to scale back its hefty increases to interest rate.

At 09:50 the rand was at R17.32 against the dollar.

“The outlook for the rand has improved considerably, and this past week’s performance is a sign of things to come,” ETM Analytics wrote in a research note.

On the stock market, the Top-40 and the broader all-share indexes rose more than 2% in early trade.

The government’s benchmark 2030 bond was stronger in early deals, with the yield down 12 basis points at 10.160%.