Johannesburg - The rand weakened on Thursday, pausing a recent rally that has lifted the unit to 17-months highs as the dollar pared losses following a batch of upbeat US economic data.
However, at 5pm the rand was bid at R12.9486 to the dollar, 11.86c firmer than at the same time on Wednesday, pulling back from a session best of R12.90 as the greenback regained some ground.
The rand has broken through a number of key technical resistance points to reach its firmest levels since August 2015, and has gained more than 3 percent in the last three sessions as signs of economic recovery boosted demand for the unit.
It would likely struggle to stretch gains to the next key level around R12.40, with the momentum set to come from next week’s budget speech, traders said.