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Rand slave to U.S. rate hike expectations

By 0640 GMT, the rand was trading at 13.9525 versus the greenback, little changed from Wednesday's close at 13.9640.

South African rand notes in a file photo.     REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

South Africa's rand hovered near the previous day's one-month lows against the dollar on Thursday as prospects of a U.S. interest rate hike in December dented the appeal of high-yielding emerging market currencies.

The rand was also victim of South Africa's Standard Bank purchasing managers' index slumping to a 15-month low, the latest sign of stress in Africa's most industrialised economy.

This followed a fall to 13.9900 in the previous session after the U.S. Federal Reserve said the world's biggest economy was "performing well" and could justify an interest rate hike in December.

"The rand remains at the mercy of simmering U.S. rate hike fears,"Barclays Africa said in a note.

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The JSE securities exchange's Top-40 futures index dipped 0.25 percent, pointing to the local bourse opening off 120 points at 0700 GMT.

In fixed income, the benchmark instrument due in 2026 weakened in early trading, pushing the yield 5.5 basis points higher to 8.485 percent.

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