S.Africa's rand edges higher, bonds flat in thin market

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand was a touch firmer against the dollar on Monday, despite the threat of a fiscal crunch in the U.S.

The Johannesburg market closed early at 1000 GMT on Christmas Eve, with trading is set to resume on Thursday after a two-day holiday.

But dealers said the rand could come under pressure in New York later on as investors seek refuge from worries that the U.S. economy could plunge into recession if there is no deal to avert automatic spending cuts and tax increases before January 1.

The rand traded at 8.5810 to the greenback at 1109 GMT, up just 0.22 percent from Friday's close.

"There was hardly any trade today, most guys are in holiday mode this week," a dealer said.

South African government bonds were also flat in a lacklustre session as most traders stayed off the market.

"The market is open but no one has put up a price. There are brokers out there but there hasn't been a trade," said Kgosi Tshite, a bond trader at Investec.

The yield on the 14-year issue, which is the market benchmark, was unchanged from Friday's last level at 7.225 percent, as was that for the three-year issue, at 5.3 percent.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/africas-rand-edges-higher-bonds-flat-thin-market-074821282--finance.html

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