JOHANNESBURG, Oct 11 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand gained against the dollar on Friday after U.S. data this week helped sustain expectations for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next month.

At 1616 GMT, the rand traded at 17.39 against the dollar , about 0.8% firmer than its previous close.

The dollar index was last down about 0.05% against a basket of currencies.

Data from the world's biggest economy this week kept intact bets of another rate cut when the Fed meets in November.

The U.S. producer price index for final demand was unchanged last month, data showed on Friday, a day after other data showed jobless claims rose while consumer inflation was slightly higher than expected in September.

The local currency has tracked the dollar and U.S. economic data points this week in the absence of major domestic events.

On the stock market, the blue-chip Top-40 (.JTOPI) , opens new tab index closed about 0.8% up.

South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was slightly weaker, with the yield up 1.5 basis points to 9.155%.

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https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/south-african-rand-rises-after-us-data-fuels-fed-rate-cut-bets-2024-10-11/