JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand extended gains against the dollar on Wednesday, briefly scaling its strongest level since early December after data showed stronger-than-expected February retail sales.
The rand climbed more than 1.0 percent to 14.5520 per dollar, the firmest it has been since Dec. 9 last year, according to Thomson Reuters data.
The currency of Africa's most industrialised economy was last at these levels hours before President Jacob Zuma fired Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene, shocking markets and triggering a financial markets turmoil that sent the rand falling through a series of lows.
By 1400 GMT, the rand was 0.55 percent stronger at 14.6225.
The currency's rise was sparked by data showing that retail sales rose 4.1 percent year-on-year in February from a revised 3.6 percent in January. This compared with a median consensus of 2.6 percent reached by analysts in a Reuters poll.
The rand was also helped by a weaker dollar, which came under pressure after United States retail sales data unexpectedly fell in March as households cut back on purchases of automobiles and other items.
"We saw it initially strengthen when our data came out and then it pulled back a little bit more, and then with the U.S. data coming out, it moved below 14.60," said ETM Analytics economist, Ricardo da Camara.
Government bonds followed the upward trend in South African assets, with the yield for benchmark 2026 debt shedding 11.5 basis points to at 8.985 percent.
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