South Africa's rand firmed against a weaker dollar on Friday, helped by higher gold prices as concerns over the United States' fiscal health sent investors into the safe-haven asset. At 1434 GMT, the rand traded at 17.

Researchers in South Africa are awarded a few billion rands worth of grants from the NIH each year, largely due to their expertise in HIV and TB. But over the last few months, much of this funding has been terminated or left in limbo. (See a detailed explanation of the situation here ).

The South African rand was steady in early trade on Tuesday before the release of domestic mining output and unemployment figures. At 0618 GMT, the rand traded at 17.74 against the dollar, about 0.2% firmer than Monday's close.