Rand flat. Seen tracking global markets

South Africa's rand was flat against the dollar on Thursday, with traders and analysts expecting it to turn to global markets for direction after touching five-week lows in the aftermath of weak domestic GDP data.

At 0652 GMT the currency traded at 12.0200 to the greenback, barely changed from Wednesday's close at 12.0230.

"The dollar continues to benefit from growing expectations that the Fed is likely to hike policy rates in the latter half of the year," Barclays Africa said in a note.

"With ongoing uncertainty surrounding Greece's ability to meet its debt repayments, most emerging market currencies are on the back foot."

Local government bonds recouped some of the previous day's losses, with the yield for the benchmark instrument due in 2026 dipping 3 basis points to 8.11 percent.