South African rand weaker ahead of U.S. jobless claims data

JOHANNESBURG, June 22 (Reuters) - The South African rand was weaker in early trade on Thursday, ahead of U.S. jobless claims data that could give hints at future interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

At 0608 GMT, the rand traded at 18.3800 against the dollar , around 0.33% weaker than its previous close.

The dollar last traded at 102.080 - around 0.06% stronger - against a basket of global currencies.

"(The dollar/rand exchange rate) is strongly biased downwards this morning but has struggled to gain any momentum and the multi-week trend still looks like it is over," said Rand Merchant Bank analysts in a research note.

The rand has weakened this week after making strong gains over a two-week period.

At 1230 GMT, the U.S. Department of Labor will release the country's weekly jobless claims.

Like most emerging market currencies, the risk-sensitive rand is susceptible to moves in global drivers such as U.S. economic data and the dollar in the absence of local catalysts.

South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was flat in early deals, with the yield at 10.705%. (Reporting by Tannur Anders; Editing by Bhargav Acharya and Toby Chopra)