JOHANNESBURG, Dec 11 (Reuters) - The South African rand edged lower against the dollar on Thursday following local data releases, including formal sector employment, mining and manufacturing reports, and a business confidence index.
At 1308 GMT, the rand traded at 16.9375 against the dollar, about 0.2% down from the previous session's close.
South Africa's mining output rose 5.8% year-on-year in October, Statistics South Africa data showed on Thursday.
Manufacturing production also rose 0.2% year-on-year in October, surprising economists polled by Reuters who expected factory output to decrease by 1.7%.
The statistics agency also published data that showed South Africa's formal sector employment, excluding agriculture, rose 0.3% quarter-on-quarter to 10.549 million people in the third quarter of 2025.
"A breakdown of the data indicates that part-time employees made up the majority of the hires during the quarter, while only a few full-time jobs were added," said Investec economist Lara Hodes in a note.
For insight on private sector sentiment, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry released its Business Confidence Index which jumped to 132.3 in November from 123.8 in October. The increase was mainly driven by greater overseas tourist numbers.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index was last up 0.5%.
South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond firmed, as the yield fell 5.5 basis points to 8.46%.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov and Anathi Madubela; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Barbara Lewis)
