South Africa's rand falls as virus fears weigh

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand weakened against the dollar in early trade on Thursday as concerns grew about a resurgence in COVID-19 infections in the country.

By 0620 GMT, the rand was down 0.33% to 15.3350 versus the U.S. dollar, extending its fall from the previous session.

Fears of fresh lockdowns to curb the virus spread weighed on the rand, said Bianca Botes, executive director at Peregrine Treasury Solutions.

Strict coronavirus restrictions earlier this year saw the economy fall deeper into recession.

South Africa reported 4,173 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the highest daily increase since mid-August.

Officials in the Western Cape province, home to tourist hub Cape Town, warned last week that the area was experiencing a resurgence of COVID-19 infections.

The Western Cape emerged as Africa's first regional hotspot towards the end of March when the new coronavirus spread via tourists into local communities, following the first confirmed positive case in South Africa earlier that month.

In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark government bond was down 0.5 basis point to 9.0%.

(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)