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Johannesburg - The rand was trading near one-month lows on Friday, weighed down by the previous day's disappointing trade figures and facing a stronger dollar buoyed by upbeat US economic data.
The rand was at R10.0400/$ at 08:36, 0.2% firmer than its New York close on Thursday. It hit a low of R10.0695 earlier in the session, its weakest level since the beginning of October.
Data on Thursday showed that trade shortfall narrowed only slightly in September to R18.94bn, after a R19.05bn deficit in August.
The trade gap was larger than the R16.35bn shortfall expected by economists.
The cumulative trade deficit for 2013 now stands at R126.37bn, compared to R83.6bn in 2012.
"Running such large deficits means that the rand will remain stuck in a position of being heavily reliant on external funding for a while to come," Tradition Analytics wrote in a briefing note.
The dollar's strong performance also contributed to the rand's weakness. The greenback strengthened on Thursday after data showed the pace of business activity in the US Midwest jumped more than expected in October, easing fears about sluggish fourth-quarter growth in the wake of last month's federal government shutdown.
The yield on the 2026 South African government bond gained 6.5 basis points to 8.07% while that on the 2015 paper was 6 basis points higher at 5.92%.
The rand was at R10.0400/$ at 08:36, 0.2% firmer than its New York close on Thursday. It hit a low of R10.0695 earlier in the session, its weakest level since the beginning of October.
Data on Thursday showed that trade shortfall narrowed only slightly in September to R18.94bn, after a R19.05bn deficit in August.
The trade gap was larger than the R16.35bn shortfall expected by economists.
The cumulative trade deficit for 2013 now stands at R126.37bn, compared to R83.6bn in 2012.
"Running such large deficits means that the rand will remain stuck in a position of being heavily reliant on external funding for a while to come," Tradition Analytics wrote in a briefing note.
The dollar's strong performance also contributed to the rand's weakness. The greenback strengthened on Thursday after data showed the pace of business activity in the US Midwest jumped more than expected in October, easing fears about sluggish fourth-quarter growth in the wake of last month's federal government shutdown.
The yield on the 2026 South African government bond gained 6.5 basis points to 8.07% while that on the 2015 paper was 6 basis points higher at 5.92%.
