Rand Treads Water Ahead of US Jobs Data

The South African rand traded steadily against the dollar on Friday morning as markets awaited highly anticipated US jobs data for clues about the Federal Reserve's next interest rate decision.

At 0625 GMT, the rand was at 15.9975 against the dollar, showing little change from its previous close.

The US nonfarm payrolls report is due at 1230 GMT, and analysts expect the unemployment rate to remain steady at 4.1%.

According to ETM Analytics, a weaker-than-expected employment growth would support the argument for keeping interest rates unchanged, reducing expectations of a September rate hike, and potentially strengthening the rand against the dollar.