BLBG:Rand Pares Drop Against Dollar as Retail Sales Exceed Estimates
The rand pared its decline against the dollar after South African retail-sales growth exceeded estimates in July.
The currency of Africa’s biggest economy traded 1.7 percent down at 7.8385 by 1:02 p.m. in Johannesburg. Earlier, it was as much as 2 percent lower at 7.8599, the weakest intraday level since May 2010.
Retail sales climbed 2.8 percent in July from a year earlier compared with a revised 2.4 percent in June, Statistics South Africa said in a report today. The median estimate was for 2 percent growth, according to 16 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ana Monteiro at amonteiro4@bloomberg.net
