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Johannesburg - South Africa's rand firmed against the dollar on Thursday due to improved sentiment for risky assets, but moves were kept in check by investors worried about upcoming US jobs data.
Liquidity was thin with the United States closed for a national holiday. Volume was at its lowest in over two months, according to Thomson Reuters data.
At 15:10 GMT, the rand was up 0.5% to R10.0250/$, coming back from an earlier session high of R9.98.
"The euro/dollar plunge following an overall dovish tone from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi had the overall impact of improving risk appetite," said Anisha Arora, emerging markets analyst at 4Cast.
The euro fell to a five-week low against the dollar after Draghi flagged downside risks to euro zone growth prospects and said interest rates could be lowered.
The rand gained over 1% on the euro.
Arora said the rand needed fresh impetus to try for R9.85 resistance, where trading stalled in the last week and in mid-June before that.
Yields on benchmark government bonds dropped 4 basis points to 7.905% on the 2026 paper.
The reserve bank will be releasing gold and foreign exchange reserves data at 06:00 GMT on Friday, where analysts polled by Reuters expect reserves to have dipped in June compared to May because of a lower gold price.
Later on Friday, markets will be focused on US non-farm payrolls data, which will give clues about the withdrawal of the Federal Reserve's stimulus programme.
Liquidity was thin with the United States closed for a national holiday. Volume was at its lowest in over two months, according to Thomson Reuters data.
At 15:10 GMT, the rand was up 0.5% to R10.0250/$, coming back from an earlier session high of R9.98.
"The euro/dollar plunge following an overall dovish tone from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi had the overall impact of improving risk appetite," said Anisha Arora, emerging markets analyst at 4Cast.
The euro fell to a five-week low against the dollar after Draghi flagged downside risks to euro zone growth prospects and said interest rates could be lowered.
The rand gained over 1% on the euro.
Arora said the rand needed fresh impetus to try for R9.85 resistance, where trading stalled in the last week and in mid-June before that.
Yields on benchmark government bonds dropped 4 basis points to 7.905% on the 2026 paper.
The reserve bank will be releasing gold and foreign exchange reserves data at 06:00 GMT on Friday, where analysts polled by Reuters expect reserves to have dipped in June compared to May because of a lower gold price.
Later on Friday, markets will be focused on US non-farm payrolls data, which will give clues about the withdrawal of the Federal Reserve's stimulus programme.
