(Reuters) -The South African rand strengthened on Thursday as the dollar ceded some of the ground it had gained in recent sessions, while mining firms helped the local bourse close in positive territory.
At 1555 GMT, the rand traded at 15.4850 against the dollar, 0.7% stronger than its previous close.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of peers, was 0.7% lower.
In the absence of major local drivers, the rand tends to take its cue from global factors including dollar moves.
The mining index on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange ended up over 3.5%, buoyed by higher gold, silver and platinum prices.
Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd, Sibanye Stillwater Ltd and Gold Fields Ltd rose 3.15%, 3.74% and 4.03% respectively.
Those companies’ gains helped the exchange’s All-share index close up 0.26%.
The Top-40 index ended 0.3% higher.
The government’s benchmark 2030 bond firmed slightly, with the yield down 1.5 basis point at 9.855%.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru and Anait Miridzhanian in Gdansk)
