JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The South African rand ended the day flat on Wednesday, recouping some losses from early trading after data showed consumer inflation had slowed more than expected in May.
At 1530 GMT, the rand traded at 18.3850 against the U.S. dollar, close to its previous close of 18.3825.
The U.S. dollar was trading about 0.16% weaker against a basket of global currencies.
South Africa’s consumer inflation slowed to 6.3% year on year in May from 6.8% in April, data showed on Wednesday. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted it would be 6.5%.
“Local markets have cheered this latest moderation in the inflation numbers, with both the rand and local bond market marginally stronger off the back of the announcement,” said Casey Delport, an investment analyst at Anchor Capital.
But she added it was “difficult to foresee any further strengthening from these current levels.”
The rand has gained nearly 7% so far this month, recovering to where it was before steep losses in the month of May.
South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was stronger, with the yield down 10.5 basis points at 10.720%.
On the stock market, the Top-40 and the broader all-share indexes both closed down about 1.5%.
(Reporting by Tannur Anders and Nellie Peyton; Editing by Bhargav Acharya, Varun H K and Jonathan Oatis)
