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Johannesburg - The rand hovered near the previous day's 8-month highs against the dollar on Friday, with scope to lose further ground as recent data suggests US interest rates could rise earlier than expected.
By 08:40 the rand traded at R11.2075 to the dollar, more or less where it ended Thursday's session in New York.
The rand had tumbled to R11.2250 on Thursday, its weakest level since early February, as investors betting on higher rates in the United States gravitated to the dollar.
With no domestic data due on Friday to give the rand direction, traders and analysts said the market would look to US GDP figures for further pointers on the likely timing of monetary tightening in the world's biggest economy.
"Given that we, along with consensus, believe that the US GDP figure will show an improvement today, the rand will likely continue in its weaker trend heading into the weekend," Barclays Africa said in a note.
The rand has dropped nearly 2% against the dollar over the past week, and 7% since the start of the year.
South African government bonds were mostly flat on Friday, with the yield for the benchmark 2026 government bond unchanged at 8.165%.
By 08:40 the rand traded at R11.2075 to the dollar, more or less where it ended Thursday's session in New York.
The rand had tumbled to R11.2250 on Thursday, its weakest level since early February, as investors betting on higher rates in the United States gravitated to the dollar.
With no domestic data due on Friday to give the rand direction, traders and analysts said the market would look to US GDP figures for further pointers on the likely timing of monetary tightening in the world's biggest economy.
"Given that we, along with consensus, believe that the US GDP figure will show an improvement today, the rand will likely continue in its weaker trend heading into the weekend," Barclays Africa said in a note.
The rand has dropped nearly 2% against the dollar over the past week, and 7% since the start of the year.
South African government bonds were mostly flat on Friday, with the yield for the benchmark 2026 government bond unchanged at 8.165%.
