South African rand gains against US dollar

The South African rand strengthened in afternoon trade on Wednesday as the US dollar drifted lower on global markets.

At 16:05 GMT, the rand traded at 18.56 against the dollar, up 0.5% on its previous close.

The dollar index was down about 0.1% against a basket of global currencies, as traders shrugged off hotter-than-anticipated US inflation and still expected a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in June.

No major South African economic data was released on Wednesday, but on Thursday mining and manufacturing production figures for January will be published, which could provide a local driver to the currency.

Government bond

On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index closed up 1.15%.

South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker, with the yield up 4.5 basis points to 10.210%.

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