Rand weaker on Thursday

The rand was weaker in early trade on Thursday, ahead of US jobless claims data that could give hints at future interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

At 08:35, the rand traded at R18.39 against the dollar.

The dollar last traded at 102.080 – around 0.06% stronger – against a basket of global currencies.

“(The dollar/rand exchange rate) is strongly biased downwards this morning but has struggled to gain any momentum and the multi-week trend still looks like it is over,” said Rand Merchant Bank analysts in a research note.

The rand has weakened this week after making strong gains over a two-week period.

At 1230 GMT, the US Department of Labour will release the country’s weekly jobless claims.

Like most emerging market currencies, the risk-sensitive rand is susceptible to moves in global drivers such as US economic data and the dollar in the absence of local catalysts.

South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was flat in early deals, with the yield at 10.705%.