Money SA economy
A softer rand was firmly out of its tight range by midday on Wednesday testing the topside of a broader range at 7.78 against the greenback.
A local currency noted that the rand did not react to the consumer price index (CPI), out at 11.30am.
The increase in South Africa's CPI, which is used by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) for its inflation target, was up 6.2% year-on-year (y/y) in January from 6.3% y/y in December, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Wednesday.
At 12.01am the rand was bid at R7.7480/$ from R7.7550/$ at its previous close.
It was bid at R10.5180/€ from its previous close of R10.4760/€ and was at R11.9754/£ from R11.9872/£.
The euro was bid at $1.3544 from $1.3523 previously.
A local currency trader said: "We saw the rand weaken overnight, testing R7.78/$ to the topside. We spent time there this morning, but not for any significant amount of time. We have broken out of the tighter range of R7.64-74/$, but on a broader range, R7.78/$ has been a key figure for some time. “
