Johannesburg - The rand edged slightly firmer early on Tuesday as
domestic fundamentals came into focus with the release of unemployment
and manufacturing data set to stoke the currency's recent weakness.
At
06:15 the rand was 0.09 firmer at R11.5800/$, hovering near a four-day
high above R11.6000 as local and offshore uncertainty swirled ahead of
the jobs and production numbers, both expected to show economic growth
continues to stutter.
A Reuters poll of economists predicts the rate of unemployment will tick up to 25.5% of the population, while year-on-year manufacturing production in December is seen contracting by 1%.
Data from China revealing imports there had slumped 19.9% coupled with a six-year low inflation print by the world's second-largest economy pushed the local unit lower in the previous session.
The ongoing debt deadlock between Greece and the European Central Bank has also soured investors’ appetite for riskier assets.
Local bonds were flat in early trade with the government issue due in 2026 unmoved at 7.48%, although yields are expected to tick up with investors chasing safer bets overseas.
Data from the Johannesburg stock exchange on Monday showed that investors sold over R3.1bn in local bonds in the previous week.
A Reuters poll of economists predicts the rate of unemployment will tick up to 25.5% of the population, while year-on-year manufacturing production in December is seen contracting by 1%.
Data from China revealing imports there had slumped 19.9% coupled with a six-year low inflation print by the world's second-largest economy pushed the local unit lower in the previous session.
The ongoing debt deadlock between Greece and the European Central Bank has also soured investors’ appetite for riskier assets.
Local bonds were flat in early trade with the government issue due in 2026 unmoved at 7.48%, although yields are expected to tick up with investors chasing safer bets overseas.
Data from the Johannesburg stock exchange on Monday showed that investors sold over R3.1bn in local bonds in the previous week.
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