At 12h16 CAT, the Rand traded at 17.1450 against the Dollar, near its previous closing level. The local currency staged a recovery on Monday, gaining about 1% after news that the United States Senate had passed a deal that would restore federal funding and end the longest shutdown.

Statistics SA data earlier showed the official unemployment rate fell slightly in the third quarter of this year, to 31.9% from 33.2% in the second quarter.

The statistics agency also published manufacturing output for September, which pointed to a 0.3% year-on-year increase, better than the 0.3% decline expected by Reuters analysts, but softer than Nedbank’s forecast of a 0.7% rise.

“While the sector continues to face structural and cost pressures, output is expected to receive some support from consumer-oriented manufacturing sectors, which are benefiting from firmer domestic demand and improved electricity supply and logistics performance,” Nedbank economists said in a research note.

–Reuters–