JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand firmed in afternoon trade on Thursday as commodity prices, which benefit the resource-rich country, rose amid an escalation in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
The rand has been resilient recently, despite markets being on edge over Ukraine tensions, supported by South Africa’s strong terms of trade, relatively high real yields and fresh reform pledges by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
At 1435 GMT, the rand traded at 14.9550 against the dollar, 0.25% firmer than its previous close.
“The rand continues to benefit from the resurgence in the commodities boom,” Annabel Bishop, a chief economist at Investec, wrote in a note.
“South Africa’s terms of trade are reflective of bolstered commodity prices.”
Gold touched an eight-month high on Thursday, after Russian news reports of a mortar fire in eastern Ukraine boosted demand for the safe-haven metal. Platinum also jumped.
The government’s benchmark 2030 bond also firmed, with the yield falling 5 basis points to 9.050%.
Stocks fell, with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Top-40 Index losing 0.47% to 69,407 points and the broader All-Share index dropping 0.45% to 76,155 points.
Miners, bucked the trend, to rise tracking commodity prices. Sibanye-Stillwater, Impala Platinum and Northam Platinum topped the index, up 4.2%, 3.7% and 2.7% respectively.
(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Emma Rumney; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)
