The rand made further headway in early trade on Tuesday as a strong carry trade differential outweighed a weak dollar.

By 08.52am the rand was bid at 7.5200 to the dollar from a previous close of 7.5510. It was bid at 11.6869 to the euro from a previous 11.7057 and at 14.8362 against sterling from 14.8858 before.

The euro was bid at $1.5502 from $1.5498 overnight, while gold was quoted at $877.37 a troy ounce from $873.80/oz overnight.

ETM analysts said in their morning report that as Wall Street sentiment eroded, so too did sentiment on the dollar, with the USD index finding itself under some pressure.

"Interestingly, the rand did not respond to the losses on Wall Street and it may be that the effects of the carry trade are being reflected as the higher oil prices seal the case for further monetary tightening in the months ahead," they explain.

Bonds consolidate as rand hangs on

Bonds consolidated their recent gains in early trade on Tuesday as more positive global credit sentiment and the stable rand factored.

By 08.40am the short-term government R153 bond was at 10.320 percent, unchanged from its previous close, while the medium-term R157 was at 9.485 percent from its previous close of 9.490 percent. The longer-term R186 bond was bid at 9.335 percent from its previous close of 9.310 percent.

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