JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand opened firmer on Tuesday, extending gains from the last three sessions as a lull in global trade war fears lifted demand for emerging currencies.
South African bank notes featuring images of former South African President Nelson Mandela (R) are displayed next to the American dollar notes in this photo illustration in Johannesburg, file. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
At 0640 GMT the rand was 0.26 percent firmer at 13.3850, slightly softer than Monday’s three-week peak of 13.3100.
On Friday the rand closed beneath 13.50 for the first time since June 22 , a key inflection point after tumbling to a seven-month low of 14.00 in an emerging market selloff sparked by rising rates in the U.S. and jitters over global growth.
Friday’s slower-than-expected growth in U.S. wages was the catalyst for the correction, and the rand has since pushed through technical resistance at 13.40, with speculators targeting stops at 13.20 this week.
Tuesday’s session is light on local data, with only June business confidence due at 0930 GMT.
Bonds were flat, with the yield on the benchmark bond due in 2026 steady at 8.625 percent.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange was set to open lower at 0700 GMT, with the Top 40 futures index down 0.3 percent.
Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Andrew Heavens