South African Rand Regains From 4-day Low Against Greenback

The South African rand, which closed yesterday's New York session at 7.5106 against the US dollar, slipped to a 4-day low of 7.5821 at about 8:15 am ET Tuesday. Thereafter, the pair reversed its direction and currently trading near 7.5559.

South Africa's non-farm employment and gross earnings decreased in the first quarter.

The number of people employed in the formal non-agricultural business sector decreased 1% on a sequential basis in the first quarter, in contrast to a 0.2% increase in the previous quarter. A year ago, the employment slipped 2.2%. The number of persons employed in the non-farm sector decreased by 79,000 to 8.08 million in the first quarter from 8.16 million in the final three months of 2009.

On an annual basis, the number of non-farm employment dropped 2.9% in the first quarter, following a 4.1% fall in the fourth quarter. The employment decreased for the fifth straight quarter.

Meanwhile, the gross earnings paid to employees in the non-agricultural business sector declined 4.6% sequentially in the first quarter, compared to a revised 12.1% growth in the fourth quarter last year. The gross earnings decreased to ZAR 289.44 billion from ZAR 303.36 billion. On an annual basis, gross earnings grew 11.7% in the first quarter, faster than the 10.7% growth in the preceding quarter.