* Rand steady ahead of PMI
* Quiet morning session for bonds
* Currency should drift to towards 7.60s
JOHANNESBURG, April 2 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand firmed
slightly along with other commodity currencies against the
dollar on Monday, as positive Chinese factory data put an ease
to fears of a hard landing for world’s second-biggest economy.
The rand was trading at 7.6403 to the dollar at
0613 GMT, 0.18 percent firmer than Friday’s close of 7.657.
Purchasing Managers’ Index data released in several
countries around the world later on Monday will likely shed more
light on the performance of the global economy.
South Africa’s March Kagiso Securities PMI is due for
release at 0900 GMT. Last month it jumped to a two-year high of
57.9 in February from 53.2 in January due to robust seasonally
adjusted business activity and new sales orders indices.
“The rand is a tad stronger, the numbers in China is
probably to some extent encouraging for emerging markets,” said
Ion de Vleeschauwer, a trader at Bidvest Bank.
China’s official PMI jumped to an 11-month high as a stream
of new orders lifted activity, easing fears for a hard
landing.
Continued…
