* Rand firms on Jackson Hole Fed speech
* Currency may test 8.37 ahead of U.S. holiday
JOHANNESBURG Aug 31 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand firmed
on Friday against the dollar after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke promised that the U.S. central bank would act as needed
to boost the world’s biggest economy and bring down
unemployment.
The rand strengthened almost 1 percent to 8.4020 versus the
dollar at 1504 GMT from New York’s close of 8.4850, recouping
its losses from a week-long lull.
“It was extremely volatile after the (Bernanke) speech. The
rand was starting to look ‘toppish’ yesterday to break 8.5, and
that has meant we are retracing, finally,” said Jim Bryson, a
rand trader at Rand Merchant Bank.
“The rand weakness was, first of all, created by the whole
China slowdown, and then obviously we had our internal problems
with the strike problem.”
Bernanke said in his Jackson Hole address that progress in
bringing down U.S. unemployment was too slow and the central
bank would act as needed to strengthen the economic
recovery.
Bryson said the rand is now expected to test stronger levels
at 8.37 before Monday’s national holiday in the United States,
unless the euro flutters ahead of the European Central Bank
meeting on Sept. 6.
Africa’s largest economy and the world’s biggest platinum
producer has been hit by violent labour clashes that left 44
people dead at a Lonmin mine in Marikana and
froze production for the past three weeks.
The yield on the three-year bond rose 3.5 basis
points to 5.49 percent and that on the longer-dated 14-year
paper flattened to 7.43 percent.
(Reporting by Vuyani Ndaba; editing by Stephen Nisbet)
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