* Rand firms within previous levels against dollar
* Bonds continue stronger bias in shorter trading hours
JOHANNESBURG Dec 22 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand
firmed against the dollar but traded within the previous
session’s levels on Thursday as the currency tracked moves in
the euro, with domestic drivers absent as trade thinned ahead of
the holidays.
The rand was at 8.1350 to the dollar at 1518 GMT,
1.3 percent firmer than Wednesday’s close in New York trade.
It strengthened to 8.07 on Wednesday but has only reached
8.1235 on Thursday as the euro fell against the dollar in the
later part of the session, capping rand gains.
“It’s thin markets. Dollar/rand has traded in the expected
range of 8.1000-8.3000, with the rand this afternoon following
euro/dollar lower,” said Christopher Shiells, an emerging
markets analyst at Informa Global Markets (IGM).
Jobs data out of the United States came out better than
expected, suggesting a recovery in that labour market was
gaining speed, which boosted the dollar against the
debt-stricken euro region’s single currency.
The rand will first look to break through Wednesday’s 8.07
level, before meeting next resistance at Dec. 8’s 8.01 region.
“On the upside we expect a test of the year high of 8.6000
in early January if the euro zone crisis does not show signs of
improving,” IGM’s Shiells said, adding the rand was unlikely to
do anything outside of following the euro/dollar pair until the
end of the year.
Government bonds ended firmer with the yield on the
benchmark four-year bond down 3 basis points to 6.76
percent while the 15-year benchmark yield dropped 2 basis points
to 8.535 percent.
The local bond market is trading at shortened hours, up
until 1000 GMT, until December 30.
(Reporting by Xola Potelwa; Editing by Catherine Evans)
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