Rand recovers as trade deal hopes rise

South Africa‘s firmed early on Friday, reversing some of its losses from the previous session with demand for emerging market currencies boosted by new signs of a trade deal between China and the United States.

At 0730 GMT the rand was 0.41% firmer at 14.48 per dollar compared to a close of 14.54 overnight in New York.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He spoke by telephone with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and the two sides made further substantive progress on trade talks, Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

Bonds also gained with the yield on the benchmark paper due in 2026 down 3.5 basis points to 8.72%. 

Stocks opened firmer, with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Top-40 index up 0.35% to 49 712 points.