South Africa's rand eases on strong U.S. data, stocks flat

South Africa's rand weakened on Friday after strong U.S. economic data kept alive bets the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates this year, while stocks were flat with investors looking to Chinese data next week for growth clues. The rand retreated from a session high of 13.0510 to 13.1105 by 1442 GMT, down 0.47 percent, while government bonds weakened, mirroring the local currency. Upbeat U.S. price and jobless claims data eased some concerns about the strength of the U.S. economy.