JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand was flat against the dollar on Friday and looked to tread a narrow range in the absence of major market-moving economic data, both locally and abroad.
Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus, in her opening address at 0800 GMT at the bank's annual general meeting, is likely to reiterate concerns about weak economic growth and upward risks to inflation from the rand's recent sharp decline.
By 0648 GMT, the local currency traded at 9.7245 against the dollar, barely changed from its New York close at 9.7300 on Thursday.
The currency has clawed back significant ground after falling to four-year lows in May as labour unrest in the mine sector dampened investor appetite for South African assets.
Expectations that the US Federal Reserve could starting winding back its monthly bond purchases has also weighed on emerging markets, which have been recipients of billions of cheap dollars under the programme.
"While event risk is low today, next week is set to be extremely volatile," John Cairns, a strategist at Rand Merchant Bank, said in a note, referring to the US central bank's upcoming policy meeting.
Government bonds strengthened in early trade, with the benchmark note due in 2026 yielding 5 basis points lower at 8.055 percent.
The yield for the shorter-dated 2015 paper also fell by the same margin to 6.09 percent.
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