South Africa's rand firmer as U.S. stimulus hope lifts sentiment

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The South African rand firmed against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Thursday, as renewed hope for more U.S. stimulus improved investor sentiment toward riskier currencies.

The rand, which has in recent weeks mainly been driven by offshore sentiment, traded at 16.5850 versus the dollar at 0620 GMT, 0.29% firmer than its previous close.

U.S. President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi look set to pursue a stimulus package for the airline industry, though Trump halted cross-party talks for a bigger plan.

"Foreign exchange markets remain at the mercy of headlines from President Trump, who suggested yesterday that he supported various stimulus measures, although the effects of these have thus far been negligible," Nedbank analysts said in a client note.

Locally, focus continues to be on government discussions on an economic recovery plan ahead of Finance Minister Tito Mboweni's medium-term budget policy statement later this month.

The COVID-19 pandemic has dragged South Africa deeper into recession and has cost the economy over 2 million jobs.

In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2030 was flat at 9.575%.

(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Christopher Cushing)