Money SA economy
The South African rand remained a tad firmer in midday trade on Friday ahead of the US employment data later in the day.
A local dealer said the South African currency will likely find a new level against the US dollar after the jobs data.
At 11.33am local time the rand was bid at R7.71 to the dollar, R9.70 to the euro and R11.63 to the pound. The euro was bid at $1.2501 from $1.2501 overnight.
"The rand remains a fraction firmer today, struggling to find the level against the US dollar. The rand will likely find its level after US jobs data later today.
Dow Jones Newswires reports that the dollar clawed back a little of its recent losses against the euro and the yen as global market sentiment improved a little Friday. The dollar gains came as investors appeared to position themselves ahead of new U.S. employment data, which are widely expected to increase fears of a double-dip recession.
Some analysts are concerned that the fall in payrolls could prove much larger than forecast given that the ADP private-sector employment report earlier in the week showed a much smaller-than-anticipated increase in jobs.
