JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand rose on Thursday after monthly domestic producer inflation came in as expected.
At 1550 GMT, the rand was trading at 19.0400 against the dollar, almost 0.9% stronger than the previous close.
The dollar was last trading 0.11% lower against a basket of other major currencies.
Statistics from South Africa show producer inflation rose slightly from 4.5% in February to 4.6% year-on-year in March, in line with expectations of analysts polled by Reuters.
The central bank said this week that it was likely to be a “bumpy and lengthy” journey to return consumer inflation to the middle of its target range.
The South African Reserve Bank has kept its key interest rate at 8.25% since May 2023 to counter price pressures.
In the stock market, the Top-40 index closed 0.2% lower, while the broader all-share index fell 0.25%.
Anglo American (JO:) Platinum fell 9.48% after BHP Group (NYSE:) made a $38.8 billion bid for parent company Anglo American.
