Rand slips against the dollar
The rand weakened in early trade on Thursday, giving up some earlier gains after US Treasury yields slipped from 16-year highs.
At 0728 GMT, the rand traded at R19.42 against the dollar.
The dollar last traded around 0.04% stronger against a basket of global currencies.
On Thursday, a plunge in oil prices and softer US labour data helped pull Treasury yields off 16-year peaks, weakening the dollar and giving some reprieve to emerging market currencies such as the rand in earlier trade.
The rand has already lost about 2.2% against the greenback this month.
Like other risk-sensitive currencies, the rand often takes cues from international factors like changes in US yields, in the absence of major local data points.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Top 40 index last traded about 0.1% higher.
South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was stronger in early deals, with the yield down 3 basis points to 11.055%.
Source: moneyweb.co.za
