THE SA rand held steady at firmer levels against the dollar in slow Monday trade, but struggled to pierce through 7.88 technical resistance in the absence of London and New York players, traders said. The rand made feeble attempts to break through 7.88/dollar, but was restrained by insufficient domestic factors, settling around 7.8875 against the U.S. unit by 0735 GMT. It was expected to remain tucked within the 7.88-7.92 range in the day. “We don’t see this market going anywhere today, bearing in mind that both London and U.S. are on holiday. It will be very quiet and there are not enough local factors to drive the market,” said one rand trader. London and U.S. markets are closed for public holidays on Monday. The rand has firmed more than four percent from its record low of 8.20 tested last month. Bonds firmed a touch, with the yield on the most liquid R150 falling one basis point to 11.14, while the longer-dated R153 bond was last at 11.73 percent, up from 11.71% on Friday. – Reuters
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