South Africas rand edged firmer against the dollar on Tuesday after the countrys trade deficit contracted sharply following lower imports of mineral products. The currency had appreciated 0.31% to an intraday low of R11.5925 against the dollar by 14:20 GMT. South Africas revenue authority said on Tuesday the trade deficit shrunk to R5.7-billion ($491-million) in November from a revised R21.63-billion shortfall in the previous month. The November data brings the cumulative gap for the year to R101.1-billion, compared with R73.2-billion over the same period last year. Ballooning budget and current account deficits have kept the local currency on the backfoot. Yields on local bonds were barely moved, with benchmark government issue flat at 8.015%, down just 2 basis points.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 02:05:04 +0000
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