Money SA economy
The rand firmed in the afternoon session on Friday, amid better than expected US retail data.
Retail sales rose last month by 0.3%, counter to the 0.3% decline expected, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
At 4.01pm the rand was bid at R7.35 to the dollar, R10.13 to the euro and R11.15 to the pound.
The euro was bid at $1.3755 from $1.3685 previously.
A local currency trader said: "The rand has held up pretty well of late. Initial strength this morning was born out of a firmer euro, we then saw an initial knee jerk reaction from the local currency on better than expected US retail data.
US consumer spending feeds into equity markets, and it usually translates into flow in emerging markets. In terms of the rest of the afternoon, I would see the rand hover at 7.40 mid mark against the dollar," he said.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that the dollar rallied after better-than-expected US retail sales.
Retail sales data are an important indicator of consumer spending. Consumer spending makes up 70% of gross domestic product, which is the broad measure of US economic activity.
The retail sales report showed US car and parts sales dived by 2.0% last month. Toyota suffered because of fallout from recalls and quality problems. Its sales fell 8.7% to 100,027 vehicles, previously issued industry data showed.
