South African rand softens, global markets focus on Middle East tensions
Updates prices to reflect afternoon trade
JOHANNESBURG, Oct 2 (Reuters) -The South African rand weakened against a stronger dollar on Wednesday, as markets worried about rising tensions in the Middle East.
At 1508 GMT, the rand traded at 17.41 against the dollar ZAR=D3, about 0.2% softer than its previous close.
The dollar index =USD was last up 0.39% against a basket of currencies, after encouraging U.S. economic data.
An Iranian missile attack on Israel on Tuesday rattled investors over a widening conflict in the Middle East and boosted safe-haven demand.
"The ZAR has retreated from its recent highs due to risk aversion following the Middle East conflict, along with stronger USD performance driven by resilient U.S. labour data," said Andre Cilliers, currency strategist at TreasuryONE.
"However, the long-term outlook for the ZAR remains positive with expected rate cuts," Cilliers added.
Like other risk-sensitive currencies, the rand often takes cues from global drivers such as rising geo-political tension, in the absence of major local factors.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Top-40 index .JTOPI closed about 0.6% higher.
South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond ZAR2030= was weaker, as the yield gained 9.5 basis points to 9.06%.
Reporting by Tannur Anders and Bhargav Acharya, Editing by William Maclean and Krishna Chandra Eluri
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