(Corrects throughout to show rand firmer, not weaker)
* Rand reverses losses vs dollar
* Treasury weekly auction results after 0900 GMT
JOHANNESBURG, Oct 9 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand firmed
but remained near a 3-1/2 year low against the dollar on Tuesday
due to weeks of labour unrest that have rattled investors in
Africa’s biggest economy.
By 0635 GMT, the rand was trading at 8.8454 to the
greenback, a touch stronger than Monday’s New York close of
8.8730.
During the previous session, the rand fell more than two
percent to 8.995 – its lowest since April 2009 – but then
retraced its steps.
Despite support at 9.0, analysts say the rand is likely to
remain under pressure with no end in sight to the strikes that
have hit the mining, manufacturing and transport sectors.
“We don’t see any change in the status quo. Things are still
poor. It looks like the market’s found some kind of equilibrium
for now,” said David Gracey, a currency trader for Investec.
Government bonds, which slid with the rand on Monday, also
found a bit of a firm footing to trade higher.
The yield on the three-year benchmark was 4 basis
points lower to 5.49 percent and that for the 14-year issue
dropped 5.5 basis points at 7.82 percent.
Treasury will sell a total of 2.1 billion rand ($236
million) over a range of its 2023, 2021 and 2031
government bonds in the session. Results are due after
the auction closes at 0900 GMT.
($1 = 8.8828 South African rand)
(Reporting By Tshepo Tshabalala; Editing by Jon Herskovitz)
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