JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s rand was slightly stronger early on Monday as global investors hoped that US-led strikes on Syria would not escalate into a wider conflict.
* At 0628 GMT, the rand traded at 12.0700 versus the dollar, around 0.1 percent stronger than its close on Friday.
* The rand was volatile last week, see-sawing over global trade war fears and tensions between the United States and Russia over Syria. Domestic factors receded.
* On Monday US stock futures firmed and oil prices fell on relief that the attack on Syria had been limited in scale.
* Analysts at NKC Research said they expected the South African currency to trade in a range of 11.90 to 12.15 to the dollar on Monday.
* Government bonds were little changed early on Monday, with the yield on the benchmark instrument due in 2026 down 1 basis point to 8.075 percent.
Source: Brecorder
