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Johannesburg - The rand firmed against the dollar on Monday after Numsa said its over 200 000 striking members had accepted a wage offer to end a four-week stoppage in the metals sector.
Following the announcement, the local unit strengthened by 0.33%, trading at R10.5450 against the greenback by 17:35.
The rand had slipped by over half a percent from its New York close to R10.5720, its weakest level since last Wednesday, before Numsa said its members would be returning to work after accepting a 10% increase for its lowest-paid members from employers.
"The rand has the ability to push to the first key point of R10.45, and then probably R10.40 if there is a resolution to the strike," Cheslyn Francis, a rand trader at Afrifocus said before the announcement.
"The resolution would indicate some faith in the South African economy and we might find off-shore bond buyers piling in a bit more money," he added.
The work-stoppage halted production at automakers and affected construction at new power plants in a country struggling with electricity supply and reeling from a recent 5-month strike in platinum sector.
Further movement in the rand is expected with the release of unemployment data on Tuesday as well as a raft of domestic economic numbers later in the week.
In fixed income government bonds were weaker. The yield on paper due in 2015 ticked up 1.5 basis points to 6.655%, while the yield on the 2026 paper added 3.5 basis points to 8.225%.
Following the announcement, the local unit strengthened by 0.33%, trading at R10.5450 against the greenback by 17:35.
The rand had slipped by over half a percent from its New York close to R10.5720, its weakest level since last Wednesday, before Numsa said its members would be returning to work after accepting a 10% increase for its lowest-paid members from employers.
"The rand has the ability to push to the first key point of R10.45, and then probably R10.40 if there is a resolution to the strike," Cheslyn Francis, a rand trader at Afrifocus said before the announcement.
"The resolution would indicate some faith in the South African economy and we might find off-shore bond buyers piling in a bit more money," he added.
The work-stoppage halted production at automakers and affected construction at new power plants in a country struggling with electricity supply and reeling from a recent 5-month strike in platinum sector.
Further movement in the rand is expected with the release of unemployment data on Tuesday as well as a raft of domestic economic numbers later in the week.
In fixed income government bonds were weaker. The yield on paper due in 2015 ticked up 1.5 basis points to 6.655%, while the yield on the 2026 paper added 3.5 basis points to 8.225%.
