Rand gains ground against softer dollar

The South African rand firmed against the dollar on Thursday after the greenback was jolted by the worst fall in US stocks in nearly eight months.

The rand was 0.71% stronger at 14.67 per dollar at 06:50 GMT, having closed in New York at 14.78.

The rand is expected to trade between 14.60 and 14.90 to the dollar on Thursday, NKC African Economics wrote in a note.

The rand had been supported by the market’s favourable reaction to the appointment of Tito Mboweni as the new South African finance minister on Tuesday.

South Africa-focused investors were awaiting the release of the statistics agency’s manufacturing production data for August due at 11:00 GMT. Consensus expectations are for production to have risen 0.6% on an annual basis.

In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2026 rose 3 basis points to 9.26%.