Johannesburg - The rand was stable against the dollar early on Tuesday and was expected trade in a narrow range for most of the session given a dearth of market moving data.
Government bonds extended recent gains, pushing yields to their highest in nearly two weeks, in line with US Treasuries after higher than expected factory data stoked rate hike expectations in the world's largest economy.
By 08:40 the rand traded at R12.0500/$, barely changed from Monday's close at R12.0605.
"The rand will continue trading in a narrow range as participants wait on the sidelines ahead of the Germany factory order release on Thursday and the all-important US employment report on Friday," Barclays Africa said in a note.
In fixed income, government debt maturing in 2026, the benchmark for the market, was yielding four basis points higher at 8.095% compared to where it ended the previous session.
"A move above 8.13% could cause another bout of price weakness and the medium term objective of 8.5% could become a reality sooner rather than later," Standard Bank trader Warrick Butler said.
Traders and analysts said South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago's speech later in the morning could give some clues on the outlook for interest rates.
The bank's monetary policy committee will hold its third policy meeting of the year later this month.
Rand - Dollar
18.75
+1.4%
Rand - Pound
23.45
+1.5%
Rand - Euro
20.08
+1.6%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.27
+1.1%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+2.2%
Platinum
925.40
-0.0%
Palladium
969.50
-2.1%
Gold
2,338.30
+0.3%
Silver
27.42
-0.1%
Brent Crude
89.01
+1.1%
Top 40
69,404
+1.4%
All Share
75,399
+1.4%
Resource 10
62,655
+0.9%
Industrial 25
104,051
+1.5%
Financial 15
16,102
+1.9%
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