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Cape Town - The rand lost all its gains and more on Thursday, after the dollar staged a comeback from early losses on the back of data that indicated US durable-goods orders climbed more than expected.
By 17:55 the rand was trading at R13.04 to the greenback after strengthening to R12.85 during Thursday's session.
The rand received a welcome boost after dovish comments by US Federal Reserve chairperson Janet Yellen placed the dollar on the back foot.
TreasuryOne dealer Phillip Pearce said the USD Fed unsurprisingly held rates steady, but signalled that inflation remains persistently low despite the economy picking up steam.
Yellen also said that the Fed will start unwinding the balance sheet relatively soon.
"These dovish comments have put the USD on the back foot, with commodities, equities and all currencies rallying. All emerging markets are trading firmer this morning."
Pearce said the break below R13/$ is solely a function of dollar weakness and could not be attributed to rand strength just yet.
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