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Johannesburg - The rand was fairly steady against
the dollar in early Thursday trade, but could weaken amid rising expectations
the US central bank would soon pull back from assets purchases that have
injected money into emerging markets.
Wary investors are also keeping a close eye on the labour strife in the local economy, with a strike for higher pay hitting output at most of the
country's gold mines on Wednesday.
The rand traded at R10.2600/$ 08:43, just 0.15% off the previous day's New York close at R10.2450.
"The rand is holding up remarkably well as it enters a busy
end-week (but) expect considerable volatility today and even more so tomorrow,"
said Rand Merchant Bank currency analyst John Cairns in a note to
clients.
Emerging economies meeting in Russia this week are expected to
discuss the risks to global markets from the Federal Reserve's expected
withdrawal of monetary stimulus.
Government bonds were sold in early trade, pushing yields
higher across the curve.
The 2026 market benchmark added 4.5 basis points to 8.57% while that on the 2015 issue was up 2 basis points to 6.455%.
