Rand firms near two-week high

Johannesburg - The rand firmed near a two-week high on Friday and looked to end the week on a stronger footing against the dollar as a renewed appetite for risk supported emerging market assets.

Dealers said the rand was also in a technical recovery after being oversold last week. 

By 06:49 GMT, the local unit was up at R8.7675 and within reach of a two-week high hit in Thursday's session.

"It's a short-term correction but I think most people are looking to buy any dips in dollar/rand," said Jan Defouw, a trader for Standard Bank, suggesting the currency could be sold back to the key R8.80 technical level which it managed to break through on Thursday. 

"It's tracking the euro/dollar at the moment and the euro is higher but there is some resistance," Defouw added.

The expected selling pressure on the rand could come from trade deficit figures, which are expected at 12:00 GMT.

The revenue service will release data on South Africa's trade account during October and if the shortfall is bigger than expected, it could weaken the rand.

However the rand looks set to have a better end to the week from the R8.90 where it started.

Government bonds were steady at 5.475% on the 2015 note and 7.565% on the 2026 issue.

The Treasury will release budget numbers for the year to October in the afternoon session.

South Africa expects a 4.8% budget deficit for this year.