Rand weakens as dollar recovers

South Africa's rand weakened in early trade on Monday and was expected to be volatile as the dollar recovered and investors digested news that S&P Global Ratings had affirmed the country's investment-grade credit rating.

The rand hit 15.0600 on Friday, its strongest level since May 13, also helped by weak U.S. jobs data that quashed expectations for a near-term U.S. interest rate hike.

"The extremely weak payrolls data accounted for around 60 percent of Friday’s rand gains; S&P’s decision the remainder," Rand Merchant Bank analyst John Cairns said in a note.

"Bias is to the topside as dollar losses reverse but expect ongoing volatile trade in response to Friday’s events."

S&P left its BBB- rating on South Africa but warned that its negative outlook reflected the potential adverse consequences of low GDP growth.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, added 0.24 percent to 94.251.

Government bonds firmed, with the yield for the benchmark instrument due in 2026 down 10 basis points to 9.1 percent.