South African rand firms despite Trump tariff news

JOHANNESBURG, July 8 (Reuters) - The South African rand edged up in early trade on Tuesday, buoyed by hopes the country could still salvage a less damaging trade deal with the United States after President Donald Trump extended a tariff deadline to August 1.

Trump informed Pretoria and more than a dozen other trading partners of sharply higher trade levies in a wave of letters sent out on Monday. South African is facing a 30% trade tariff on its exports to the U.S., but the extended deadline has opened a window for further negotiations.

At 0656 GMT the rand traded at 17.76 against the dollar ZAR=D3, roughly up 0.6% on Monday's close, seemingly clawing back some of its losses after falling well over 1% on the day.

The risk sensitive currency was already reeling after Trump threatened an additional 10% tariff on any country aligning with what he called "Anti-American policies" of the BRICS group.

The U.S. is South Africa's second-largest bilateral trading partner after China. In addition to minerals, car parts and other manufactured goods, South Africa exports agricultural products to the U.S. and stands to lose about 35,000 jobs in the citrus industry if the tariffs take effect.

South Africa's presidential office said in a statement that the 30% tariff rate is not an accurate representation of available trade data, adding that the country would continue to engage with the United States.

South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond ZAR2035= was weaker in early deals, as the yield rose 3 basis points to 9.86%.