Johannesburg - The rand hovered in the R8.20s against the
dollar on Monday, unable to build on recent strength in the euro and weakness
in the dollar due to continued labour strife in the mining sector.
The unit is likely to have a quiet session on Monday with no
data expected until Tuesday.
The rand was at
R8.2400 against the dollar at 06:50 GMT, a shade weaker than Friday’s New York
close of R8.21.
The rand rose to a session high of R8.2605 against the
dollar on Friday.
“The unfortunate thing is that investor sentiment has been
soured by the backdrop in the mining crisis,” said Brigid Taylor, Head of
Institutional Sales at Nedbank.
“Until that finds some form of resolution we’re unlikely to
see any rally on the bond market or the currency.”
Despite those concerns, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said
late on Sunday there was no need yet to revise the outlook for the government’s
fiscal performance for this year.
“What we might see in the third quarter is a dip again in
the growth numbers and also an impact on the potential that there was for
increased employment within the sector as well,” he told Reuters and Swedish
news agency TT in an interview.
“The revenue loss is there,” he said of the strike, but
added: “At this stage our budget February 2012 numbers stand.”
Platinum producer Lonmin [JSE:LON] is due to resume wage
talks on Monday after strikers rejected a pay rise offer last week. The company
at the heart of the labour crisis has promised a new approach to labour
relations.
The dollar continues to trade under pressure nearing a
seven-month low versus a basket of currencies, while the euro held steady at
$1.3128, hovering near a four-month high hit on Friday.
South African government bonds weakened, with yields moving
up 6.5 basis points on the 2026 bond and 2 basis points on the 2015 note
Statistics South Africa will release its Q2 quarterly
employment data on Tuesday, including jobs statistics for the formal
non-agricultural sector.
The South African Reserve Bank starts its three-day monetary
policy committee meeting tomorrow ahead of its repo rate decision on Thursday.
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