South Africa's rand eased against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, after a strong rally in the previous session that was fuelled by hopes of a global economic rebound.

At 0642 GMT, the rand traded at 17.0200 per dollar, 0.49% weaker than its close on Wednesday, when it climbed to an 11-week peak of 16.8900.

Governments around the world have gradually started to lift tough lockdown measures imposed to contain the coronavirus which has infected more than 6.43-million people globally and killed over 380 000.

In South Africa, the government on Monday partially lifted a lockdown that has battered the economy which was already in recession before the coronavirus crisis, allowing mines and factories to run at full capacity.

In fixed income, the yield on the 10-year government bond due in 2030 was up 2.5 basis points to 8.690%.