Johannesburg - The rand firmed on Tuesday as currency bears took a breather after selling at the start of the week and as global markets stabilised ahead of US nonfarm payrolls data later in the week.
The rand was bouncing back from two-week lows hit in the previous session as weak Chinese data, a surprise decision by the Bank of Japan to ease policy further and the expected economic impact of power outages in South Africa hurt the currency.
State-owned power utility Eskom instituted rolling black-outs over the weekend and said on Monday that electricity supply would be stretched.
At 08:47 SA time on Tuesday, the rand was up 0.4 percent at 11.0350 to the dollar, off a 11.0750 close on Monday.
Dealers said markets globally were biding time until the release of jobs numbers out of the United States, which may signal possible monetary policy actions by the Federal Reserve.
“Currency movements will likely be relatively tight this week as traders wait for all-important US nonfarm payrolls report on Friday,” analysts at NKC said in a market note, expecting the rand to trade in a 11.00-11.09 range in the session.
Yields on government bonds rose 3 basis points to 7.955 percent on the benchmark 2026 bond, trading within recent levels.
The National Treasury is looking to sell 2.35 billion rand in the 2032, 2037 and 2044 bonds in its weekly sale of fixed income paper.
Results are due after auction closes at 11:00 SA time. - Reuters