Rand flat, seen trading sideways rest of the week

Johannesburg - The rand was mostly flat against the dollar on Thursday, with traders and analysts expecting it to drift sideways after the Federal Reserve's latest policy statement left the outlook for US rates uncertain.

Stocks opened slightly firmer, with the JSE's Top 40 index up 0.5% from Tuesday's close. Markets were closed on Wednesday for a public holiday.

At 09:03 the rand traded at R14.4300/$, just 0.03% off where it ended New York trade on Wednesday.

Traders and analysts said the currency would struggle to find direction amid uncertainty for the global economy.

"The rand has in fact traded in pretty much no-man’s land this week. It has been unable to break below 14.15 and as yet struggled to get above 14.60 either," Standard Bank trader Warrick Butler said in a note.

"In between is just a technical minefield of illiquidity and noise. Flows from the international sector have been quiet with fast money accounts happy to watch from the sidelines and real money investors quiet on both the bond and equity side of things."

Trade on the debt market got off to a slow start, with the yield on the 2026 benchmark dipping just 1 basis points to 9.105%.