JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s rand firmed on Thursday against a weaker U.S. dollar, after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested rate cuts will likely come later this year.
At 1552 GMT, the rand traded at 18.7150 against the dollar, 0.6% stronger than its previous close.
The dollar was last trading down 0.36% against a basket of global currencies.
A surge in gold prices has helped the rand gain some ground this week, analysts said, with little positive news at home to boost the currency.
Central bank data released on Thursday showed that South Africa’s net foreign reserves fell slightly to $56.652 billion at the end of February, from $56.662 billion in January.
Gross reserves increased to $61.653 billion in February, from $61.188 billion in January.
In other central bank data, South Africa’s current account deficit widened sharply in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 2.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) from a revised 0.5% of GDP in the third quarter.
On the stock market, the Top-40 index closed almost flat.
South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was stronger, with the yield down 3 basis points to 10.065%.
(Reporting by Nellie Peyton and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Alexander Smith )
