JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s rand was unchanged on Wednesday after local inflation fell slightly more than expected in March, but not enough to change the outlook on interest rates.
At 1516 GMT, the rand traded at 19.0475 to the U.S. dollar, the same as its previous close.
The dollar was last trading down about 0.14% against a basket of global currencies.
Headline inflation fell to 5.3% year on year from 5.6% in February, statistics agency data showed, compared to 5.4% predicted by analysts polled by Reuters.
Analysts said the central bank was still unlikely to start cutting interest rates for some months yet.
“We expect headline inflation to remain in a 5.0-5.5% year-on-year range through August on the back of higher oil prices/weaker FX, but core inflation to decline further to the 4.5% target mid-point in the coming months,” said Goldman Sachs.
“We maintain our forecast for deeper disinflation to come through from Q4 onwards, as supply shocks fade and as the Rand stabilises,” it added in a research note.
South African retail sales fell 0.8% year on year in February, slightly less than expected, after falling by a revised 2.0% in January, Statistics South Africa data showed.
South Africa’s benchmark 2030 government bond was stronger, with the yield down 15.5 basis points to 10.705%.
On the South African stock market, the Top-40 index and the broader all-share index both closed flat.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya and Nellie Peyton; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Alexandra Hudson)
