Johannesburg - The rand was steady against the US dollar on Wednesday after rallying to its strongest level in 7 weeks overnight, alongside other emerging currencies as investors bet that US interest rates would remain low for some time.
The local unit barely moved on data from the central bank showing that growth in credit demand from South Africa's private sector was little changed at 8.74 percent year-on-year in September.
At 08:53 SA time the rand traded at 10.8555 to the dollar, little changed from its New York close at 10.8410.
Government bonds edged higher, pulling the yield for the 2026 secondary market benchmark 3.5 basis points lower to 7.88 percent.
The rand tracked gains by most emerging Asian currencies amid expectations that the US Federal Reserve will on Wednesday reaffirm its intention to wait longer before hiking interest rates.
“(The rand) is likely to benefit from a risk-on environment should the Fed retain a dovish tone tonight,” Barclays Africa said in a note. - Reuters