* Rand extends losses with afternoon dollar demand
* Longer end of bond yield curve rises further
JOHANNESBURG Aug 17 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand hit a
two-week low on Friday, extending earlier falls linked to the
killing by police of 34 protestors at a Lonmin
mine as offshore investors increased bets on dollar gains after
positive U.S. data in the afternoon.
The rand was down just over 1 percent to 8.3150 to
the dollar at 1620 GMT.
The local unit was sold most of the session as investors
gave South Africa a wide berth after the killings at the
platinum mine rekindled memories of a racist past and hit
sentiment towards Africa’s largest economy.
In late afternoon trade the rand extended the losses to a
two week low of 8.3533 as the euro dipped below $1.23 on
improving U.S. consumer sentiment.
“The combination of the euro remaining under pressure, the
negativity surrounding commodity currencies across the board and
the concerns regarding the ongoing strike action and clashes
with police precipitated a bout of rand selling,” said William
Van Rijn from Nedbank.
Further weakness is likely to drive the rand to test 8.50
support next week, some analysts said.
Government bonds were slightly weaker in thin trade for most
of Friday’s session.
Continued…
