JOHANNESBURG — The rand was markedly weaker against the dollar late on Friday as the greenback gained traction after the release of better-than-expected January United States nonfarm payrolls data.
US nonfarm payrolls grew by a seasonally adjusted 257 000 jobs in January, the US Labour Department said on Friday.
This upbeat jobs number was far better than market expectations of 237 000 new private-sector jobs.
The solid jobs report buoyed the dollar as it increased expectations that the US Federal Reserve might raise interest rates sooner than previously expected.
At 3:50pm, the rand was at R11,3963 to the dollar from Thursday’s close of R11,2875.
Against the euro, the local unit was at R12,9775 from a previous close of R12,9385 and was at R17,4210 against the British pound from a previous close of R17,2812.
The euro was at $1,1382 against the dollar from a close of $1,1470 on Thursday.
Job creation was also far stronger in prior months than previously estimated, with the US government upping its estimates of new jobs in November and December by a combined 147 000, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
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“The dollar strengthened because of the better-than-expected US jobs number and because the previous number has been adjusted by so much as well, and that is why the rand is weaker,” a local trader said.
November marked the strongest month of private-sector hiring since 1997.
— BDLive