JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand hovered in the 8.20s against the dollar on Monday, unable to build on recent strength in the euro and weakness in the dollar due to continued labour strife in the mining sector.
The unit is likely to have a quiet session on Monday with no data expected until Tuesday.
The rand was at 8.2400 against the dollar at 0650 GMT, a shade weaker than Friday's New York close of 8.21. The rand rose to a session high of 8.2605 against the dollar on Friday.
"The unfortunate thing is that investor sentiment has been soured by the backdrop in the mining crisis," said Brigid Taylor, Head of Institutional Sales at Nedbank.
"Until that finds some form of resolution we're unlikely to see any rally on the bond market or the currency."
Despite those concerns, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said late on Sunday there was no need yet to revise the outlook for the government's fiscal performance for this year.
"What we might see in the third quarter is a dip again in the growth numbers and also an impact on the potential that there was for increased employment within the sector as well," he told Reuters and Swedish news agency TT in an interview.
"The revenue loss is there," he said of the strike, but added: "At this stage our budget February 2012 numbers stand."
Platinum producer Lonmin is due to resume wage talks on Monday after strikers rejected a pay rise offer last week. The company at the heart of the labour crisis has promised a new approach to labour relations.
The dollar continues to trade under pressure nearing a seven-month low versus a basket of currencies, while the euro held steady at $1.3128, hovering near a four-month high hit on Friday.
South African government bonds weakened, with yields moving up 6.5 basis points on the 2026 bond and 2 basis points on the 2015 note
Statistics South Africa will release its Q2 quarterly employment data on Tuesday, including jobs statistics for the formal non-agricultural sector.
The South African Reserve Bank starts its three-day monetary policy committee meeting tomorrow ahead of its repo rate decision on Thursday.
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