* Rand still dominated by international issues
* Uncertainty to remain high on unresolved debt problems
JOHANNESBURG May 25 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand
steadied on Friday against the dollar but remained under
pressure from a weaker euro and the debt crisis sweeping its
major European trading partners.
The rand was slightly firmer at 8.3455 at 0646 GMT from New
York’s Thursday close of 8.3625 per dollar.
“It seems as if markets took a breather in a day that saw
little new information on the unfolding drama in the Eurozone,”
Rand Merchant Bank wrote in a client note.
“We expect uncertainty to remain high until there’s clarity
over the future of the Eurozone.”
Government bonds opened flat, with the benchmark yield at
6.35 percent for the three-year bond and the 14-year
paper slipping half a basis point to 8.32.
Bonds gained on Thursday after the Reserve Bank left rates
unchanged. Analysts suggested the bank’s statement sounded
dovish with it forecasting a lower inflation number.
Treasury is due to auction 500 million rand of the 2018
, 800 million rand of the 2031 and 800
million rand of the 2036 nominal inflation-linked
bonds at 0900 GMT.
On the bourse, the JSE’s blue-chip Top-40 June futures
contract was up 0.06 percent before the 0700 GMT start
of trade, pointing to a positive start.
(Reporting by Vuyani Ndaba; Editing by Jon Herskovitz)
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