JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand held onto its recent gains against the dollar on Friday in the absence of major local economic data releases.
At 1504 GMT, the rand traded at 18.6925 against the dollar, 0.1% stronger than its previous close.
The dollar index was last trading up about 0.13% against a basket of currencies after data showed U.S. employers hired far more workers than expected in March, potentially delaying expected interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year.
South Africa had no major domestic economic releases due on Friday. Investor focus will turn towards monthly reserves, manufacturing and mining figures next week.
On the stock market, the Top-40 index closed down 0.75%, while the broader all-share index ended 0.79% lower.
South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker, with the yield up 9 basis points to 10.525%.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Mark Potter and Barbara Lewis)
