JOHANNESBURG, Aug 6 (Reuters) - The South African rand

gained against a weaker dollar on Wednesday as traders ruminated

over last week's weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data, while

awaiting tariff updates before Washington's deadline.

At 1451 GMT, the rand traded at 17.80 against the dollar

, roughly up 0.5% on Tuesday's close.

This week's major focus for South Africa is whether it can

negotiate a better trade pact as it faces a 30% duty on goods

exported to the U.S., the highest rate among Sub-Saharan African

countries.

The dollar last traded 0.3% weaker against a basket

of currencies as investors held back from making big bets, still

reeling over the disappointing July employment report but also

on the look out for U.S. President Donald Trump's decision on

appointments to the Federal Reserve.

Trump on Tuesday said he would soon announce a short-term

replacement for Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, who announced her

resignation on Friday, as well as his pick for the next Fed

chair.

"The USD is losing its exceptionalism and is steadily

finding itself on the defensive, allowing other currencies to

make up lost ground," ETM Analytics said in a research note.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Top-40 index was

up 0.5% and the wider All-share index up 0.4%.

South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond was

little changed as the yield rose half a basis point to 9.68%.