Johannesburg - South Africa's rand firmed slightly against the dollar on Monday as it gradually recovers from a five-year low hit last week, but local and international data due in the next few days could determine whether it holds on to its gains.
The rand was at 11.2400 to the dollar at 08:22 SA time, up 0.3 percent from Monday's New York close.
It weakened to a fresh five-year low of 11.39 last week, dragged down by an ongoing strike in the platinum mining sector and an emerging markets selloff.
The currency could take its cue from the European Central Bank's interest rate announcement on Thursday, as well as US non-farm payrolls figures and local foreign exchange reserves data released on Friday.
“Over the coming days, the rand could weaken further if, on balance, US employment data fuel US rate hike expectations or the dollar benefits most from another ECB rate cut on Thursday,” Absa Capital analysts wrote in a note.
The yield on the 2026 government bond fell 1 basis point to at 8.905 percent while that on the 2015 paper declined 3.5 basis points to 7.23 percent. - Reuters