Johannesburg - South Africa's rand steadied against the dollar early on Friday ahead of US jobs data that is expected to show further recovery in the world's biggest economy.
At 06h50 GMT the rand was trading at 11.8225 to the dollar, not far off its Thursday closing level of 11.8365.
All eyes were on the US nonfarm payrolls report due later in the day to gauge the strength of the economy and how that will affect the timing of any interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
Markets believe a strong report could prompt the Fed to soon increase US interest rates, a move that could further boost the dollar.
“The US labour report holds significant forecast risk, given the adverse weather and recent disappointments in other employment indicators,” Carmen Nel of Rand Merchant Bank said in a morning market note.
“An upside surprise would be rand negative, but the impact of a downside surprise will depend on the detail.”
Government bonds firmed, and the yield for the 2026 benchmark was down 1 basis point to 7.735 percent.
Reuters