South Africa’s rand experienced a boost on Friday as the dollar weakened following the release of U.S. data indicating slower-than-expected job growth in June. At 1649 GMT, the rand was trading at 18.8400 against the dollar, showing a 1.41% increase compared to its previous close. Meanwhile, the dollar index recorded a decline of over 0.8% against a basket of global currencies.
According to the Labor Department’s employment report, the U.S. economy witnessed the lowest job additions in 2-1/2 years in June. Additionally, the report revised the number of jobs created in April and May by 110,000 from earlier estimates. These figures contributed to the weakening of the dollar and the strengthening of the rand.
The previous day, the rand experienced a decline as the Federal Reserve’s June meeting minutes revealed a more hawkish policy stance, leading investors to shift away from riskier assets. On the stock market, the Top 40 and the broader all-share indices closed around 1% higher. However, Telkom shares fell by nearly 7% after the company announced the rejection of an unsolicited offer led by its former CEO. In the afternoon deals, South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond weakened, with the yield increasing by 7.5 basis points to 10.770%.