The South African rand was weaker early on Friday ahead of U.S. jobs data that could hint at the Federal Reserve's future interest rate path. At 0721 GMT, the rand traded at 18.6000 to the dollar, about 0.

The slowdown has coincided with a months-long stretch of stubborn inflation, putting pressure on the Fed to keep interest rates high despite a risk of hindering economic activity with expensive borrowing costs.

The Federal Reserve signaled interest rates could likely remain higher for longer than previously expected on stalling disinflation, but downplayed the possibility of rate hikes following an unchanged rate