Johannesburg - South Africa's rand extended recent losses against the dollar on Thursday and the yield on the benchmark government bond rose to a four-month high as strong US housing data stoked expectations the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates soon.
At 06h49 GMT the rand was trading 0.43 percent weaker at 12.2800 to the dollar compared with its closing level on Wednesday.
Government bonds weakened with the currency, and the yield for the 2026 benchmark was up 11 basis points to 8.145 percent, its weakest level since December 2014.
“The rand and local bonds have been sideswiped by the sell-off in global bonds and look a little oversold,” John Cairns of Rand Merchant Bank said in a market note.
Cairns added that the focus on Thursday will be US jobless claims and new homes sales due to be released later in the day.
Traders were also waiting for Eurozone PMI figures.
Reuters