Johannesburg - The rand strengthened on Tuesday on upbeat economic data, breaching 11 to the dollar, but it could not hold on to the gains.
The rand was trading at R11.0080/$ at 15:36 GMT, 1% firmer than Monday's New York close. It had lost some ground after reaching R10.9700/$ earlier in the session.
Data released on Tuesday showed South Africa's unemployment rate improved to 24.1% of the labour force in the fourth quarter of 2013, the lowest in seven quarters, from a revised 24.5% in the third quarter .
Statistics South Africa also said manufacturing output rose 2.5% in volume in December from the previous December, after rising 0.3% increase in November.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected year-on-year growth of 1.4% and month-on-month growth of 0.2%.
The rand is still struggling to consolidate recent gains. Investors remain concerned about South Africa's fundamentals, including its large current account and budget deficits and ongoing strikes by platinum miners.
"The rand is showing a tendency to underperform again, with its fragilities still at the forefront of investors' minds," said ETM market analyst Sean McCalgan.
The yield on the 2026 government bond edged down 1 basis point to 8.755%. Yield on 2015 paper was at 7.11%, down 2.5 basis points.
The rand was trading at R11.0080/$ at 15:36 GMT, 1% firmer than Monday's New York close. It had lost some ground after reaching R10.9700/$ earlier in the session.
Data released on Tuesday showed South Africa's unemployment rate improved to 24.1% of the labour force in the fourth quarter of 2013, the lowest in seven quarters, from a revised 24.5% in the third quarter .
Statistics South Africa also said manufacturing output rose 2.5% in volume in December from the previous December, after rising 0.3% increase in November.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected year-on-year growth of 1.4% and month-on-month growth of 0.2%.
The rand is still struggling to consolidate recent gains. Investors remain concerned about South Africa's fundamentals, including its large current account and budget deficits and ongoing strikes by platinum miners.
"The rand is showing a tendency to underperform again, with its fragilities still at the forefront of investors' minds," said ETM market analyst Sean McCalgan.
The yield on the 2026 government bond edged down 1 basis point to 8.755%. Yield on 2015 paper was at 7.11%, down 2.5 basis points.