* Rand firmer on China PMI
* Thin trading volumes seen ahead of Easter weekend
JOHANNESBURG, April 3 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand firmed
slightly against the dollar on Tuesday, lifted by positive
Chinese manufacturing data that boosted the outlook for
commodities exporters.
The rand was up 0.17 percent against the greenback
at 0618 GMT, trading at 7.6475 against the dollar. It closed on
Monday in New York 7.65.
“The dollar has come back a little bit weaker across the
board. There was some positive PMI data out of China which did
signify that there is still support for commodity markets,” said
Brigid Taylor, Head of Institutional Sales at Nedbank in
Johannesburg.
“For now we looking to buy dips below 7.55. Markets are very
thin ahead of the Easter weekend, and that’s likely to persist
until next week,” she added.
Trading volumes are expected to be moderate ahead of Easter,
with traders taking a holiday on Good Friday and returning to
next week Tuesday.
The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers is due
to release March new vehicle sales data at 0900 GMT while
Treasury plans to auction 2.1 billion rand of its 2018
, 2036 and 2031 bonds.
Bond yields inched up, with the yield on the 2015 issue
up half a basis point to 6.68 percent and that on the
2026 issue up by the same margin to 8.355 percent.
On the bourse, the JSE’s blue-chip Top-40 March futures
contract was up 0.32 percent before the 0700 GMT start
of trade, pointing to a positive start.
(Reporting by Vuyani Ndaba; Editing Ed Cropley)
© Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved
