JOHANNESBURG: The South African currency Rand declined against the US dollar following a week of unstable trade dominated by global events and thin volumes ahead of a holiday-shortened week.
At 0632 GMT the local unit was 0.15 percent weaker at 11.5870 versus the greenback with the previous week’s wild swings in global risk appetite dissipating, as Russia’s ruble along with emerging market assets recovered slightly.
On Friday the U.S. Federal Reserve offered further hints that it would begin to lift interest rates by June 2015, while the eurozone looked set to extend its asset buying programme as it battles to spur flagging economic activity.
South Africa’s ailing economy stands to benefit from capital inflows if the European Central Bank expands its bond-buying programme to include sovereign debt, just as the end of the Fed’s multi-trillion dollar bond purchasing regime begins to weigh.
Local bonds were firmer in early trade, the yield on the benchmark issue due in 2026 shedding 1.5 points to 7.99 percent.
