South African Rand coins are seen in this photo illustration . REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 5 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand strengthened on Thursday, ahead of the release of local current account data for the third quarter.

At 0714 GMT, the rand traded at 18.11 against the dollar, about 0.4% stronger than its previous close.

The dollar index was last down 0.2% against a basket of currencies.

The South African Reserve Bank will publish the country’s third quarter current account data at 0900 GMT. Analysts polled by Reuters predict a deficit of 85.5 billion rand ($4.72 billion).

On the stock market, the Top-40 index was up 0.2%.

South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was marginally weaker, with the yield up 1.5 basis points to 8.95%.

($1 = 18.1167 rand)

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(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Susan Fenton)