JOHANNESBURG Nov 2 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand fell
more than 1 percent against a stronger dollar on Friday in the
wake of better-than-expected jobs data from the U.S. economy.
By 1555 GMT, the rand was trading at 8.75 against
the greenback, 1.27 percent weaker than Thursday’s close of
8.6400 in New York.
“It’s a combination of dollar strength and gold price
weakness that is dominating the rand today,” said Manik Narain,
a strategist at UBS.
“There seems to be a theme developing in the market where
the dollar is actually proving to be the main beneficiary of
this data as opposed to emerging currencies in general.”
The dollar hit a three-week peak versus the euro after data
showing the world’s largest economy had created more jobs than
expected in September.
Market players say the rand could be undermined by strong
data which favours the dollar and a weakening gold price.
The euro also slipped against the dollar after a Greek court
ruled the country’s pension reform demanded by foreign lenders
may be unconstitutional, raising concerns about Athens’ ability
to implement austerity measures needed to secure aid.
The euro zone is South Africa’s biggest trading bloc
partner.
Government bonds were mixed with yields steady at 5.465
percent on the 2015 note and 1.5 basis points lower at
7.685 percent on the benchmark 2026 issue.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange changed the
benchmark bond from the R157 to the R186 due to a lack of
liquidity on the currency benchmark bond.
(Reporting By Tshepo Tshabalala; Editing by David Dolan and
Hugh Lawson)
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