* Rand seen above 8.00/dlr for a while
* Steepness in yield curve, govt to auction long end
* December PPI data out on Thursday
JOHANNESBURG, Jan 25 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand
fell sharply to fresh one-week lows against the dollar on
Wednesday and was see being pressured in the next few days with
the Greek debt crisis dominating investors’ minds.
The rand firmed to a two-month high of 7.8961
earlier, which attracted importer buyers of dollar and it
quickly retreated.
Government bonds mirrored the rand’s weakness, with the
longer end of the curve coming under more pressure after the
government said it would issue three bonds next week mainly from
the long end.
The 2015 bond yield went up one basis point to
6.66 percent and was up six basis points on the 2026 issue
to 8.375 percent.
The rand was the worst performer in the session among 20
emerging market currencies tracked by Reuters and there will
likely be no respite in the next few sessions.
It was last trading at 8.04, from Tuesday’s New York close
of 7.9250.
Continued…
