* Central bank buys dollars at 7.51 level
* Rand firms after GDP surprises to upside
JOHANNESBURG Feb 28 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand
was little changed from overnight closing levels in late Tuesday
trade, struggling to break resistance at 7.52, but could renew
its attempt for more gains this week, supported by improved
emerging market risk sentiment.
Government bonds rallied and yields inversely edged lower,
with the latest weekly auction pointing to strong demand for
South Africa’s high-yielding debt, particularly at the longer
end of the curve.
The rand briefly touched a five month high of 7.5050/dollar
partly boosted by data showing South Africa’s economic growth
accelerated more than expected in the fourth quarter of 2011,
suggesting there is no need for further monetary easing
.
This means domestic rates will remain much more attractive
for investors than those in developed states.
At 1629 GMT the currency was trading at 7.53 to the
dollar, up 0.41 percent from Monday’s New York close of 7.5610.
“We saw rand almost go through 7.50 today but there was a
little bit of buying from the SARB (South African Reserve Bank)
and there was quite a lot of importer interest at these levels,”
said Brigid Taylor, Head of Institutional Sales at Nedbank.
The SARB insists it does not target a level for the rand,
but has said it will take advantage of a stronger currency to
build its foreign exchange reserves.
Continued…
