Rand steady following release of CPI data

The rand was stable in the early afternoon on Wednesday, following the release of Consumer Price Index data by Stats SA. 

CPI ticked up from 4.4% in May to 4.6% in June, which was slightly under the 4.8% expected by economists. 

The local currency opened at R13.27 to the dollar and was trading at R13.33/$ at 12:18, 0.48% weaker on the day. 

With no surprises in the CPI data, markets are expected to turn their attention to the SA Reserve Bank's repo rate announcement on Thursday afternoon. 

"We expect that interest rates will remain unchanged at the current level for a prolonged period," said NKC African Economics in a morning note. 

Andre Botha of TreasuryONE, meanwhile, said the rand was looking for fresh impetus. 

"… [The currency] is still comfortably within the ranges of the week, but with the stronger US dollar and weaker commodity prices, the rand will struggle to press through the weekly low of R13.1650, with a bias to the rand being little weaker [on Wednesday] ."