South African rand heads for 2% weekly gain on improved risk appetite
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 16 (Reuters) -South Africa's rand was slightly stronger in early trade on Friday and was on course for gains of about 2% this week as upbeat U.S. economic data allayed fears of an imminent recession in the world's top economy.
At 0705 GMT, the rand traded at 17.97 against the U.S. dollar ZAR=D3, up about 0.2% on Thursday's closing level.
The dollar was down 0.1% against a basket of global currencies =USD.
Data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits dropped to a one month-low last week, while retail sales increased by the most in 1-1/2 years in July.
"U.S. data remains the compass for currency markets worldwide," ETM Analytics said in a note.
The research firm said the rand had also been helped by improved terms of trade, as prices for gold and platinum that South Africa exports had risen.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Top-40 index .JTOPI was up 0.9% in early deals, and the benchmark 2030 government bond ZAR2030= was marginally stronger as the yield fell 1.5 basis points to 9.215%.
Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta
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