Johannesburg - The rand steadied on Friday against the dollar
but remained under pressure from a weaker euro and the debt crisis sweeping its
major European trading partners.
The rand was slightly firmer at R8.3455 at 06:46 GMT from
New York’s Thursday close of R8.3625 per dollar.
“It seems as if markets took a breather in a day that saw
little new information on the unfolding drama in the eurozone,” Rand Merchant
Bank wrote in a client note.
“We expect uncertainty to remain high until there’s clarity
over the future of the eurozone.”
Government bonds opened flat, with the benchmark yield at
6.35% for the three-year bond and the 14-year paper slipping half a basis point
to R8.32.
Bonds gained on Thursday after the Reserve Bank left rates
unchanged. Analysts suggested the bank’s statement sounded dovish with it
forecasting a lower inflation number.
Treasury is due to auction R500m of the 2018, R800m of the
2031 and R800m of the 2036 nominal inflation-linked bonds at 09:00 GMT.
On the bourse, the JSE’s blue-chip Top 40 - (Tradeable) [JSE:J200]
June futures contract was up 0.06% before the 07:00 GMT start of trade,
pointing to a positive start.