JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand firmed against the dollar on Monday as opinion polls suggested Greece may remain in Europe's single currency, boosting global investors' sentiment towards riskier emerging market assets.

The rand had jumped 1.47 percent to 8.2754 against the dollar at 0652 GMT, from Friday's New York close of 8.4050.

"The market was a bit oversold last week. A lot of bets against the euro saw the euro down at 1.25," said Brigid Taylor, head of Institutional Sales at Nedbank.

"We have consequently had a bounce over the weekend post news that the pro-austerity party is getting the lead," added Taylor.

Opinion polls placed Greek conservatives ahead of their rivals for a June 17 general election, triggering covering of massive short positions on hopes Athens may agree to austerity steps and avoid a euro exit.

Yields on benchmark bonds eased half a basis point, with that on the three-year paper moving to 6.345 percent and that on the longer-dated 2026 issue to 8.31 percent.