South African Rand Erases Gains on Inflation & Retail Sales

The South African rand pared its gains today after the reports showed that inflation grew less than predicted and retail sales decreased.

The consumer prices in South Africa grew 4.3 percent in April, while forecasts promised growth by 4.4 percent. The retail sales slowed for the third straight month. The macroeconomic data, together with the decline of commodities and decreasing demand for higher-yielding currencies, creates a very unhealthy environment for the South African currency.

USD/ZAR traded near its opening level of 6.9780 today as of 15:27 GMT after falling to 6.9300.

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