JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand gained against a weaker dollar on Wednesday as traders ruminated over last week’s weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data, while awaiting tariff updates before Washington’s deadline.
At 1451 GMT, the rand traded at 17.80 against the dollar, roughly up 0.5% on Tuesday’s close.
This week’s major focus for South Africa is whether it can negotiate a better trade pact as it faces a 30% duty on goods exported to the U.S., the highest rate among Sub-Saharan African countries.
The dollar last traded 0.3% weaker against a basket of currencies as investors held back from making big bets, still reeling over the disappointing July employment report but also on the look out for U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision on appointments to the Federal Reserve.
Trump on Tuesday said he would soon announce a short-term replacement for Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, who announced her resignation on Friday, as well as his pick for the next Fed chair.
“The USD is losing its exceptionalism and is steadily finding itself on the defensive, allowing other currencies to make up lost ground,” ETM Analytics said in a research note.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Top-40 index was up 0.5% and the wider All-share index up 0.4%.
South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond was little changed as the yield rose half a basis point to 9.68%.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Alison Williams)
