Rand firms before unemployment figures

The rand firmed against the dollar in early trade on Tuesday, as investors awaited third quarter unemployment data.

At 07:05 GMT, the rand traded 0.54% stronger at 14.64 per dollar, having closed in New York at 14.72.

The currency is expected to trade in a range of 14.50 to 14.80 to the dollar on Tuesday, NKC African Economics wrote in a note.

Investors were waiting for the release of Statistics South Africa’s third quarter labour force survey due at 09:30 GMT.

South Africa’s unemployment rate rose to 27.2% in the second quarter from 26.7% in the first quarter.

“The official South African unemployment rate probably will remain close to 27% in Q3, due to weak growth, continued policy uncertainty and a lack of measures to boost employment,” NKC African Economics wrote.

In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2026 was up 2 basis points at 9.27%.

Stocks were set to open lower at 07:00 GMT, with the JSE securities exchange’s Top-40 futures index down 0.15%.