The rand continued to lose ground in noon trade on Friday, tracking the dollar and waiting for US non-farm payrolls data.

At 11.43am the rand was bid at 8.1255 to the dollar from a previous close of 8.0600. It was bid at 11.6770 to the euro from a previous 11.5505 and at 13.5997 against sterling from 13.4937.

The euro was bid at US$1.4356 from US$1.4353 overnight.

A local trader said: "It's all a bit quiet at the moment, tracking the dollar till non-farm payroll data out later.

"We are in a range of 8.08-8.15 till then," he said.

RMB analyst Nema Ramkhelawan said in a daily report: "Brace yourselves, the infamous US non-farm payroll figures are due this afternoon, and the number is notorious for moving the market. According to a Reuters survey, US non-farm payrolls for July should print in the region of 320 000, which would be the lowest figure to date since September last year.

"However, the number has surprised investors on many occasions this year sending markets, notably currencies, into a tailspin. This means that USD/ZAR, which is a high-beta play on the global economy, is susceptible to further weakness having already broken 8.00 should US unemployment figures continue to deteriorate," Ramkhelawan said.

She added that the ZAR's sensitivity to global events is detracting from its appeal as a high-yielding commodity currency and might prompt investors to diversify into other emerging market currencies, such as USD/TRY, which are more shielded from event risk.

"We expect the ZAR to remain under pressure, even if US labour statistics surpass expectations, due to the looming power sector strike, which might take place next week," Ramkhelawan concluded.

Dow Jones Newswires reports that ahead of anxiously awaited US jobs data later in the day, speculation was that the employment figures might be worse than expected, because other recent US data have been disappointing, also weighed on the dollar against the euro, traders said.

"Weak jobs data would make players think that US consumer spending will remain stagnant and that the pace of the economic recovery may get slower," said Hiroshi Maeba, a senior dealer at Nomura Securities.

If July's US non-farm payrolls data are worse than expected, the dollar could head down toward Y94.00 later on Friday, traders said. The headline figure for the data, due out at 12.30pm GMT, is forecast to show that 275 000 jobs were lost during the month, according to a Dow Jones consensus forecast.

Weak US jobs figures could also push the euro toward $1.4400, traders said.

"Players have bought so many euros this week that they can't increase their holdings much more without adjusting their portfolios," said Yuji Saito, head of foreign exchange at Societe Generale. "The US jobs data may give them a good opportunity to square positions."

Bonds better offered; eye rand, repo

Bonds were better offered by noon on Friday as supply and rand concerns outweighed any positive vibes around lower inflation.

By 12.02pm the short-term government R153 bond was bid at 7.870 percent from 7.845 percent at it previous close. The medium-term R157 was at 8.485 percent from 8.470 percent, while the long-term R186 was at 8.925 percent from 8.900 percent before.