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Johannesburg - The rand enjoyed a relief rally across the board on Wednesday‚ boosted by better than expected domestic economic data‚ ahead of the keenly awaited speech on the US economy by US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at 20:30.
The rand gained almost 10c against the dollar after the release of better than expected consumer inflation numbers (CPI) and current account data.
The deficit on the current account narrowed to 5.8% of gross domestic product (GDP)‚ or R190.9bn‚ in the first quarter of this year from a deficit of 6.5% of GDP‚ or R212.6bn‚ in the final quarter of last year‚ the Reserve Bank’s June Quarterly Bulletin showed on Wednesday.
An I-Net Bridge consensus forecast was for a deficit of 7% of GDP.
The CPI‚ which the Reserve Bank uses to target inflation‚ was 5.6% year on year in May after a 5.9% year on year increase in April.
The inflation rate was expected to have come in at 5.8% year on year‚ according to a survey of leading economists by I-Net Bridge.
“The next trigger event for the high yielding currencies such as the rand will be the speech tonight by the US central bank chief’s pronouncement on stimulus measures‚” a Johannesburg-based trader said.
