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South Africa’s rand gained strength on Thursday, trading at 18.11 against the dollar by 0714 GMT, about 0.4% stronger than its previous close. This movement comes ahead of the anticipated release of local current account data for the third quarter.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, dipped by 0.2%. At 0900 GMT, the South African Reserve Bank plans to release the third-quarter current account figures (ZACACT=ECI). Analysts surveyed by Reuters project a deficit of 85.5 billion rand ($4.72 billion).
In the equities market, the Top-40 index (.JTOPI) edged up by 0.2%. However, South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond saw slight weakness, with the yield rising 1.5 basis points to 8.95%.
For reference, $1 was equivalent to 18.1167 rand at the time of reporting.
