Johannesburg - The rand was slightly firmer against the dollar on Friday despite broader weakness in emerging markets but could face risks from inflation and retail sales data next week.
The rand was at R10.7550/$ at 14:51 GMT, up 0.5% from Thursday's New York close and has traded in a narrow R10.7170/$ to R10.8350/$ range through the day.
Next week's February CPI data and January retail sales data has the potential to underscore the rand's relative fragility and the limitations on the bank's policy, said ETM market analyst Sean McCalgan.
The data "will probably confirm the policy dilemma that's facing the South African Reserve Bank," he said, adding that constraints on "its ability to hike rates meaningfully ... could be a fundamental negative for the rand."
The yield on the 2026 government bond edged down 2 basis points to 8.53% while that on the 2015 paper declined 12 basis points to 6.895%.
The rand was at R10.7550/$ at 14:51 GMT, up 0.5% from Thursday's New York close and has traded in a narrow R10.7170/$ to R10.8350/$ range through the day.
Next week's February CPI data and January retail sales data has the potential to underscore the rand's relative fragility and the limitations on the bank's policy, said ETM market analyst Sean McCalgan.
The data "will probably confirm the policy dilemma that's facing the South African Reserve Bank," he said, adding that constraints on "its ability to hike rates meaningfully ... could be a fundamental negative for the rand."
The yield on the 2026 government bond edged down 2 basis points to 8.53% while that on the 2015 paper declined 12 basis points to 6.895%.