Share

Rand gains after US jobs underwhelms

Johannesburg - The rand gained over 1% against the dollar on Friday as jobs gains in the US underwhelmed, helping to boost emerging market assets.

At 14:00GMT the rand firmed 0.94% to 11.9275, having climbed over a percent after non-farm payrolls data showed the United States added 223 000 jobs in April, just shy of market expectations but above the crucial 200k mark .

Rand depreciate

The March jobs figure was revised downwards to 85 000 from 126 000, with the overall employment picture cooling bets of interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve this year.

A rate hike in the US is expected to draw investment flows away from high-yield EM markets, as well see the rand depreciate.

"The big thing for the rand is that wage growth dynamics (in the US) remain weak and also the March number was downwardly revised," said Ricardo da Camara of ETM Analytics, referring to the meek hourly wage growth of three cents shown in the US data.

"We're now below 11.95 on the pair and technically that opens the door for more rand gains," da Camara added.

Imports tumbled

Signs of an economic slowdown in China, the world's No 2 economy and major export destination for South Africa, compounded a dip in confidence over global growth, allowing a recent bonds sell-off to persist.

China's exports unexpectedly fell 6.4% in April from a year earlier, while imports tumbled by a deeper-than-forecast 16.2%.

South Africa's government bonds were slightly firmer, with benchmark instrument due in 2026 shedding 4 basis points to 8.09%, but adding 50 basis since an April low of 7.59%.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.02
-0.6%
Rand - Pound
24.01
-0.5%
Rand - Euro
20.53
-0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.35
+0.0%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.6%
Platinum
899.20
+0.3%
Palladium
999.25
-0.3%
Gold
2,213.81
+0.9%
Silver
24.60
-0.2%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,080
+0.6%
All Share
74,278
+0.5%
Resource 10
56,967
+2.4%
Industrial 25
103,572
+0.3%
Financial 15
16,456
-0.4%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders