JOHANNESBURG, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The South African rand weakened in early Tuesday trade, pressured by a pullback in precious metal prices as investors awaited U.S. jobs and inflation data later this week that could offer clues on the Federal Reserve's interest rate outlook.
At 0729 GMT, the rand traded at 15.95 against the dollar, down 0.3% on Monday's close.
Gold and other precious metals including platinum are key South African exports.
The yellow metal fell 0.8% on Tuesday after two straight sessions of gains, though it held above the $5,000-per-ounce level, while spot platinum shed 2.3% to $2,075.18 per ounce.
The domestic calendar this week features an annual mining conference in Cape Town from February 9-12, which will bring together some of the world's top mining investors and government officials to discuss the industry's outlook.
South Africa's statistics agency is expected to publish December mining and manufacturing figures on Thursday.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index was last down 0.3% in early trade.
South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond was flat, as the yield rose only half a basis point to 8.03%.
(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
