MARKET WRAP: Rand firms most in more than a month

The rand gained the most in more than a month on Friday after the US dollar weakened when US jobs data for February came in stronger-than-expected but lower than in January, while the JSE tracked weaker global stock markets.

The nonfarm payrolls data showed payrolls increased by 311,000 in February, above the market expectation of 225,000 — however lower than the blockbuster January figure of 504,000. The unemployment rate rose to 3.6%, above the expectation of 3.4%, while wages increased by 4.6% from a year ago, compared with the 4.8% estimate. ..