Most EM currencies stable in lead-up to US jobs data

Most emerging market currencies were steady on Friday as markets braced for an all-important US jobs reading later in the day which could offer clues on the size of potential rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this month.

Non-farm payrolls data is slated to be released at 1230 GMT. Analysts are looking for new jobs to rise by 160,000 and for the unemployment rate to dip to 4.2 per cent.

But a recent run of softer partials suggests risks are to the downside, fuelling speculation of an outsized half-point rate cut on Sept. 18.

"Yesterday's ADP data seems to confirm that the US labour market continues to cool down but the NFP normally carries more weight when it comes to market impact," Teeuwe Mevissen, senior macro strategist at Rabobank, said.

Traders are all but convinced that the Fed will cut rates later this month, with 41 per cent leaning towards a 50-bps reduction, as per the CME FedWatch Tool.

Most emerging market currencies, generally considered as risky, traded in a tight range, while traditional safe havens such as the Swiss franc and the Japanese yen were on the rise.

"We believe this period of pre-US election dynamics and pre-Fed easing will engineer a sizeable dispersion of returns in EM FX," analysts at Citi wrote in a note.

As of 0838 GMT, MSCI's index for emerging market stocks was up 0.1 per cent, though headed for a more than 2 per cent weekly drop, while a gauge for currencies rose 0.3 per cent.

Index heavyweight the Chinese yuan was up 0.1 per cent in offshore trading, while Chinese shares recorded their lowest closing levels in seven months.

South Africa's rand held steady at 17.72 per dollar, while stocks slipped 0.5 per cent.

South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond hit its strongest level in almost three years on Friday, with the yield on the bond slipping below 9 per cent.

Currencies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) were range-bound against the euro, while local equities slipped.

Emerging market equities saw inflows for the 14th straight week in the week to Wednesday, while debt saw outflows for the sixth straight week, according to a report by Bank of America.