* Rand slightly softer on global concerns
* Currency set to trade in 8.5-8.7 range vs. dlr
JOHANNESBURG, June 4 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand
softened against the dollar on Monday as fears of a global
slowdown dealt another blow to risk sentiment amongst investors.
At 0638 GMT, the rand was trading at 8.6035 against the
dollar, slightly softer than Friday’s New York close of 8.59.
“There’s probably more risk for rand weakness in the coming
days. It does look like there are still concerns,” said Ion de
Vleeschauwer, a trader at Bidvest Bank.
U.S. employment data on Friday suggested the euro zone’s
debt mess was taking its toll on the world’s largest economy,
stoking fears of a worldwide slowdown compounded by gloomy
manufacturing data from China and Europe.
“Obviously those very weak U.S. job figures on Friday have
sparked rumours that there could be more quantitative easing,
which should benefit emerging markets,” De Vleeschauwer added.
Government bonds were largely unmoved. The yield on the
three-year bond was flat at 6.355 percent while that on the 14
year paper gained 1.5 basis points to 8.93 percent.
The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers is due
to release May new vehicle sales data at 0900 GMT.
(Reporting by Vuyani Ndaba; Editing by Ed Cropley)
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