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Johannesburg - The rand erased earlier losses against the dollar on Friday, gaining more than 1% after the release of US jobs data eased fears of a recession in the world's biggest economy.
In the absence of key domestic developments, the rand took its cue from international markets, which rose after data showed US jobs growth was higher than expected in July.
The rand was trading at R6.862/$ in late afternoon trade, 1.2% stronger than Thursday's New York close of R6.948/$, recovering from a two-week low of R6.96/$ touched earlier. It hit a session high of R6.8455.
"We are seeing a bit of relief for the rand following better than expected non-farm payrolls data, but this is unlikely to last for long," said Anisha Arora, emerging markets analyst at 4CAST.
"The backdrop remains cautious and it is still a dollar story as well as a global sentiment story for the unit."
The rand has been volatile this week as worries over a deepening eurozone debt crisis and the global economy offset the impact of increased investor inflows into the local bond market, which have kept the currency on the firmer side of R7.00/$.
Two attempts to convincingly break support at 6.91 - a 200-day moving average - have failed this week and a close below 6.90 this week will re-affirm the currency's resilience, bringing the mid-6.80's into play.
But sentiment remains fragile and may keep risk aversion elevated.
On fixed income, bonds took a breather on Friday after strong gains, with yields bouncing from multi-month lows.
The yield on the 2015 bond was up two basis points to 7.15%,and that on the 2026 issue climbed 11.5 basis points to 8.245%.
In the absence of key domestic developments, the rand took its cue from international markets, which rose after data showed US jobs growth was higher than expected in July.
The rand was trading at R6.862/$ in late afternoon trade, 1.2% stronger than Thursday's New York close of R6.948/$, recovering from a two-week low of R6.96/$ touched earlier. It hit a session high of R6.8455.
"We are seeing a bit of relief for the rand following better than expected non-farm payrolls data, but this is unlikely to last for long," said Anisha Arora, emerging markets analyst at 4CAST.
"The backdrop remains cautious and it is still a dollar story as well as a global sentiment story for the unit."
The rand has been volatile this week as worries over a deepening eurozone debt crisis and the global economy offset the impact of increased investor inflows into the local bond market, which have kept the currency on the firmer side of R7.00/$.
Two attempts to convincingly break support at 6.91 - a 200-day moving average - have failed this week and a close below 6.90 this week will re-affirm the currency's resilience, bringing the mid-6.80's into play.
But sentiment remains fragile and may keep risk aversion elevated.
On fixed income, bonds took a breather on Friday after strong gains, with yields bouncing from multi-month lows.
The yield on the 2015 bond was up two basis points to 7.15%,and that on the 2026 issue climbed 11.5 basis points to 8.245%.
