Rand gains as dollar falters; unemployment data due

The rand gained in early trade on Tuesday as the dollar faltered in global markets, with domestic unemployment figures due to be published later in the day.

At 09:06, the rand traded at R17.10 against the dollar. The dollar was down around 0.3% against a basket of currencies.

Statistics South Africa is scheduled to release third-quarter unemployment numbers around 0930 GMT. The official jobless rate edged lower in the second quarter but remained very high at 33.9%.

Analysts expect it to remain elevated as economic growth is so sluggish.

Central bank data on Tuesday showed a 9.34% year-on-year expansion in private sector credit in October, slightly smaller than the previous month’s 9.74% growth.

The South African government’s benchmark 2030 bond was little changed in early deals, with the yield falling 2 basis points to 10.255%.