Johannesburg – The rand weakened before noon on Friday as currency traders eyed US nonfarm payroll data for direction.
“Yesterday the rand traded in a very strong range due to the current account data. Today we saw the rand under pressure ahead of US nonfarm payrolls and unemployment figures out later tonight‚” Vunani Private Clients global market analyst Kuziva Muganiwa said.
At 11:38‚ the rand was bid at R8.6982/$ from Thursday’s close of R8.6886. The local currency was bid at R11.2435/€ from its previous close of R11.2608 and at R13.9320 against sterling from R13.9342 before.
The euro was bid at $1.2935 from Thursday’s close of $1.2960.
“Other supporting info on the rand like the purchasing of bonds have not had an impact on the local currency. The rand is vulnerable to levels of liquidity‚” Muganiwa said.