Rand softer as dollar gains on solid US jobs data

The rand retreated against the dollar in late Wednesday trade as a solid US employment report boosted the greenback.

Private-sector employment increased by 237‚000 jobs from May to June‚ according to the June ADP National Employment Report. This was more than the 220‚000 jobs forecast by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal‚ according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Wednesday’s report is the latest signal of growth in the US labour market.

At 3.26pm the rand was at R12.2258 to the dollar from a close of R12.1681 on Tuesday. The rand was at R13.5604 against the euro from a previous close of R13.5495 and at R19.1328 to the British pound from R19.1130 previously.

The euro was at $1.1091 from its previous close of $1.1135.

The US nonfarm payrolls report for June will be released on Thursday‚ a key gauge of employment to shape investors’ expectations on the timing for the first rate increase.

On the Greek front‚ the debt crisis continues to dominate market sentiment.

The newswire said Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had sent a new proposal for budget cuts and policy overhauls as part of a request for a new bail-out.

However‚ the proposal fell short of the demands of his country’s creditors‚ European officials said on Wednesday.

- BDlive