Rand pauses ahead of Fed, jobs data

Johannesburg - The rand was largely unchanged on Wednesday as investors cautiously awaited a US Federal Reserve policy statement and local unemployment data later in the session.

At 08:25 the rand was barely changed at R12.5650/$, failing to hold on to momentum that saw the unit trade firm to 12.52 overnight after crashing to a 14-year low on Monday.

"The rand is almost stuck in a bit of a consolidation range for the day," said Warrick Butler of Standard Bank.

Emerging markets were soothed by signs that China's central bank would intervene to boost liquidity there following an equity rout triggering a heavy selloff of EM assets globally.

The rand though faces pressure from macro data releases likely to stall moves toward technical resistance near 12.50 ahead of the Fed's statement at 20:00.

Credit extension slowed in June according to South Africa's central bank, and Q2 unemployment figures later in the session are set to confirm an already grim picture of the economy.

Yields on government issued bonds fell, with the benchmark paper due in 2026 down 2 basis points to 8.18%.