South Africa's rand firms slightly after reserves data

07 Aug, 2013

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand firmed slightly against the dollar in early Wednesday trading after data showed foreign exchange reserves rose in July.

The rand was at 9.8830 to the dollar at 0616 GMT, up 0.4 percent from its close in New York on Tuesday.

The net gold and foreign exchange reserves of Africa's biggest economy rose in July to $45.176 billion from $44.604 billion in June, data from the Reserve Bank showed on Wednesday.

However, market participants expect mining and manufacturing production data due on Thursday to have a bigger impact on the rand and trading is likely to be cautious until the figures are released.

The yield on the 2026 government bond was flat at 8.155 percent, while that on the 2015 issue was down 1.5 basis points at 6.1 percent.

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