Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - The rand held steady against the dollar on Wednesday after closing above the key R11.000/$ level the previous day, but struggled to make significant gains.
The rand was at R10.9725/$ at 15:08 GMT, little changed from Tuesday's New York close, though it had earlier hit a session high of R10.9300/$.
The currency was buoyed by surprisingly upbeat trade data from China as well as solid importer demand locally, traders said.
Local retail sales data also beat expectations. South Africa's retail sales grew at 3.5% year-on-year in December from a revised 4.4% in November, Statistics South Africa said. Economists had expected sales growth of 2.7%.
In China, exports rose 10.6% in January from a year earlier, while imports jumped 10%, easing fears that the world's second largest economy and one of South Africa's major trading partners is mired in a worsening slowdown.
However, the rand periodically slipped below 11 throughout the session and a sustained rally isn't guaranteed.
"It's struggling a bit but if we can get to R10.93/$ I think we can definitely go lower (firmer)," said Rand Merchant Bank FX trader Jim Bryson.
The yield on the 2026 government bond declined 3.5 basis points to 8.72% while that on the 2015 paper was flat at 7.11%.
The rand was at R10.9725/$ at 15:08 GMT, little changed from Tuesday's New York close, though it had earlier hit a session high of R10.9300/$.
The currency was buoyed by surprisingly upbeat trade data from China as well as solid importer demand locally, traders said.
Local retail sales data also beat expectations. South Africa's retail sales grew at 3.5% year-on-year in December from a revised 4.4% in November, Statistics South Africa said. Economists had expected sales growth of 2.7%.
In China, exports rose 10.6% in January from a year earlier, while imports jumped 10%, easing fears that the world's second largest economy and one of South Africa's major trading partners is mired in a worsening slowdown.
However, the rand periodically slipped below 11 throughout the session and a sustained rally isn't guaranteed.
"It's struggling a bit but if we can get to R10.93/$ I think we can definitely go lower (firmer)," said Rand Merchant Bank FX trader Jim Bryson.
The yield on the 2026 government bond declined 3.5 basis points to 8.72% while that on the 2015 paper was flat at 7.11%.
