* Rand firms but meets resistance at 8.10/usd
* Bonds barely changed in short trading hours
JOHANNESBURG Dec 28 (Reuters) – The rand firmed for a
fifth day against the dollar on Wednesday, boosted by year-end
flows and support for riskier assets from a stable euro.
The rand was 0.4 percent firmer against the dollar at 8.1190
by 1430 GMT, up from its previous close at 8.15. It strengthened
to 8.10 in the session before bouncing back from that resistance
level as trading volumes stayed thin.
“Although euro/dollar has been mostly rangebound, the rand
may be getting support from a few year-end flows, allowing the
unit to firm,” said Anisha Arora, an emerging markets analyst at
4Cast Limited.
Resistance at both 8.10 and 8.00 should provide tough
barriers in such an illiquid market.
“The dollar/rand 8.10 area should hold quite well,
especially as the rand is still vulnerable to the euro’s swings
in the thin liquidity environment, and given that there is
nothing really positive in the current market to suggest rand
strengthening,” Arora added.
The rand has traded weaker than 8 per dollar for most of the
past two months and, with just two days of trading left in the
year, is unlikely to breach that level.
Government bonds were barely changed in Wednesday’s
shortened session, with most yields nudging only half a basis
point lower compared to Friday’s close.
Continued…
