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Johannesburg - The rand held largely steady against the dollar on Wednesday despite a wider than expected March trade deficit, with market players reluctant to take significant positions ahead of a holiday.
The rand traded at R10.5280 per dollar by 16:39 GMT, up 0.26% from Tuesday's close.
Rand bulls were unfazed by data from the revenue service which showed South Africa recorded a trade deficit of R11.4bn in March against economists' expectations of a R1.5bn gap.
The data could however come back to haunt the rand as it points to continued pressure on the current account, a longstanding Achilles' heel for the unit.
"The rand held up well today because of Workers' Day tomorrow, nobody wanted to do anything much. But that trade number is worrying in terms of our balance of payments," a Johannesburg trader said.
The rand also found support from a Reserve Bank report earlier in the session that showed growth in credit demand from the private sector quickened in March, keeping the door open for interest rates to rise this year.
Government bonds were slightly firmer on the day, with yields for the 2026 and 2015 issues each closing 3 basis points lower at 8.445% and 6.78% respectively.
The rand traded at R10.5280 per dollar by 16:39 GMT, up 0.26% from Tuesday's close.
Rand bulls were unfazed by data from the revenue service which showed South Africa recorded a trade deficit of R11.4bn in March against economists' expectations of a R1.5bn gap.
The data could however come back to haunt the rand as it points to continued pressure on the current account, a longstanding Achilles' heel for the unit.
"The rand held up well today because of Workers' Day tomorrow, nobody wanted to do anything much. But that trade number is worrying in terms of our balance of payments," a Johannesburg trader said.
The rand also found support from a Reserve Bank report earlier in the session that showed growth in credit demand from the private sector quickened in March, keeping the door open for interest rates to rise this year.
Government bonds were slightly firmer on the day, with yields for the 2026 and 2015 issues each closing 3 basis points lower at 8.445% and 6.78% respectively.
