JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand inched firmer on Monday, clinging on to a month's worth of gains towards the crucial 14.00 mark despite the dollar recovering from its recent slump as trade tensions between Washington and Beijing thawed.
At 1500 GMT, the rand was 0.1pc firmer at 14.0750 per dollar, backtracking slightly after reaching a session-strongest 14.0375 before bids stalled just shy of the 14.00 technical resistance mark seen by traders as key to moves in either direction.
"A short-term corrective bounce is developing, targeting the 14.1836 weekly low of 20 June, but any break should fade into consolidation beneath 14.4000," analysts at Continuum Economics said in a note.
After tumbling to 15.170 on June 7, the rand has advanced more than 7pc to its firmest since mid-April, mostly aided by a dollar slide following the Federal Reserve's dovish tone on lending rates.
The rand, however, faces pressure as demand switches back to the greenback following a reported truce between the United States and China on the sidelines of the G20 summit over the weekend.
President Donald Trump offered concessions including no new tariffs and an easing of restrictions on tech company Huawei in order to reduce tensions with Beijing.
On Monday, the dollar rose to two-week highs against a basket of major currencies.
Bonds were weaker, with the yield on the benchmark paper due in 2026 up 3 basis points to 8.125pc.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the benchmark Top 40 Index ended up 0.51pc at 52,465 points, while the broader All-Share Index gained 0.61pc at 58,560.
Global stocks rallied as the United States and China agreed to restart trade talks, leading investors to cut back wagers on aggressive policy easing by the major central banks.
Among the gainers was bourse heavyweight Naspers, which rose 2.92pc to 3,519.20 rand.
Further gains were curbed by the bullion sector which fell 5.64pc weighed down by the spot gold price.
AngloGold Ashanti fell 6.78pc to 236.79 rand, Harmony Gold lowered 3.88pc to 30.51 rand and Gold Fields closed down 4.63pc to 73.20 rand.
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