JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand slipped on Thursday, after the release of weaker-than-expected local mining output figures.
At 1544 GMT the rand traded at 17.7850 against the dollar, down about 0.2% on Wednesday’s close.
The risk-sensitive rand, which often takes cues from global drivers like U.S.
policy and economic data, fell by almost 1% earlier in the day, after U.S. producer prices increased less than expected in May, suggesting the Federal Reserve could increase the pace of its easing cycle.
Domestically, South Africa’s mining output fell 7.7% year on the year in April, the sixth consecutive monthly decline, Statistics South Africa data showed on Thursday.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected production to fall 4.3%.
“April’s annual decline was chiefly underpinned by the decrease in production of PGMs (platinum group metals), which make up 30.2% of the mining basket,” Investec economist Lara Hodes said in a research note.
“Elevated uncertainty around the extent and effect of tariffs on global trade and growth remains a key downside risk,” she added.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Top-40 index closed 0.8% higher.
South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond was slightly stronger in early deals, as the yield rose 1.5 basis points to 10.085%.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov; editing by Barbara Lewis, Alexandra Hudson)
