2010.09.2313:30:00UTC+00South Africa's Rand Firms Slightly Against The Us Dollar

News:

• Dealers see the currency testing 7.00 per dollar again in the next few sessions
• Stocks were little changed for the third session in a row
• The rand hit a 2-1/2 year high of 6.98 on Wednesday
• At 1600 GMT, the rand was at 7.0280 against the dollar, 0.3 pct firmer than New York's close of 7.0495; it fell to a session low of 7.1095 earlier
• Govt bonds firmed a bit, with the yield on the 2015 note down one bps to 7.20 pct and that on the 2026 issue falling two bps to 7.88 pct
• Blue-chip To 40 index edged down 0.09 pct or 22.64 pts, or 25,521.12; All-Share index slowed just 0.03 pct to 28,714.77