JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The South African rand gained against a weaker dollar on Tuesday, shrugging off lacklustre domestic mining and unemployment data.
At 1511 GMT, the rand traded at 18.1450 against the U.S. dollar, about 0.55% stronger than its closing level on Monday.
The dollar index was last trading down about 0.2% against a basket of currencies after data showed U.S. producer prices increased less than expected in July.
On the domestic front, economists said the outlook for South Africa’s job market remained uncertain despite economic conditions improving since the start of the year.
South Africa’s official unemployment rate rose for the third quarter in a row, reaching 33.5% in April-June of this year, Statistics South Africa data showed.
“A more meaningful recovery is likely to occur next year as inflation dips towards 4.5% and the (central bank) reduces interest rates more significantly, creating space for faster growth in domestic demand and job creation,” Nedbank economists said in a research note.
South Africa’s total mining output fell 3.5% year-on-year in June compared with a revised increase of 1.3% in May, data showed.
On the stock market, the Top-40 index closed up over 0.5%.
South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was stronger, with the yield down 9.5 basis points to 9.265%.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Tannur Anders)
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