Rand Regains Poise Amid Stabilisation Of Wider Sentiment, Gold Ticks Higher

Spot USD/ZAR snaps a three-day winning streak as the US dollar pauses gains, with the BBDXY Index easing off its recent cyclical highs. The pair last deals at 18.9433, down around 1,100 pips on the day, with bears looking for a sell-off towards Apr 9 low of 18.4131. Conversely, a sustained break above Mar 28 high of 19.1063 would expse Feb 23 high of 19.3899.

• The precious metals index sits a tad higher on the session, with gold trading around $10/oz. higher, close to its all-time highs. SAGB yields are lower across the curve, allowing 10-year breakeven inflation rate to pull back from a recent cyclical peak to 7.18% where it sits at typing.
• South Africa's inflation eased to +5.3% Y/Y in March from +5.6% prior, printing marginally below the +5.4% consensus forecast. Core inflation came in at +4.9% Y/Y, in line with expectations. These outcomes will not be satisfactory for the SARB, who are aiming to bring key metrics of inflation to the +4.5% Y/Y target mid-point.
• Retail sales data for February will be published at 12:00BST/13:00SAST, offering an insight into the condition of a South African consumer. Per the results of a Bloomberg survey, real retail sales may have contracted by 1.3% Y/Y.