Rand Trims Losses Despite Narrowing S. African Trade Surplus

USD/ZAR has moved away from session highs of ZAR18.4326, preceding a pullback in the BBDXY index. The rate last changes hands at ZAR18.3507, up ~480 pips on the session, with familiar technical levels still in play.

• From a cross-asset perspective, local-currency bonds have reversed their initial losses, with 10-year breakeven inflation rate easing to 6.59%. The BBG Commodity Index is barely changed on the day, while the precious metals subindex trades ~0.3% lower on the day.
• South Africa's trade surplus narrowed to ZAR6.9bn in March, missing the ZAR18.0bn consensus forecast, with the February reading revised lower to +ZAR10.7bn from +ZAR16.1bn. Monthly budget balance flipped into a deficit of ZAR46.1bn from a surplus of ZAR8.1bn recorded in the previous month versus a median estimate of -ZAR51.0bn.
• President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed an interministerial committee chaired by Deputy President Paul Mashatile to consider legal options on the matter of the ICC in relation to Russian President Vladimir Putin's potential visit for the BRICS summit in August.