Rand Gains on Record US Retail Sales & Hopes for EU

The South African rand advanced today as the US retail sales demonstrated a record growth during Thanksgiving, while hopes emerged that the European Union would find a way to deal with its problems.

The retail sales in the United States climbed the record 16 percent during the Thanksgiving holiday period. There are rumors that the International Monetary Fund prepared a bailout in case Italy would be threatened by the debt crisis, but the IMF officials denied that they are planning rescue for Italy. The The MSCI Emerging-market stocks posted the biggest advance in more than three weeks, while the Standard & Poor’s GSCI index of commodities rose to the monthly record.

USD/ZAR fell today from 8.4520 to 8.3350 as of 13:05 GMT, while the daily minimum was 8.3020.

If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the South African Rand,
feel free to post them using the commentary form below.