General retailers were the main beneficiaries on the JSE on Thursday following the Reserve Bank’s surprise decision to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.75%. The sector has had a troubling few months as the economy fell into recession, but lower interest rates hold the promise of better days ahead as they support consumer spending. After a strong performance on Wednesday, miners retreated despite the weaker rand and higher spot prices. Industrials and banks recorded gains. The Bank based its decision on a sharply improving inflation outlook. Consumer inflation is now expected to average 5.3% in 2017 from the May forecast of 5.7%, and 4.9% in 2018 from 5.1% previously. The Bank also cited the rand’s relative resilience as a positive factor after having warned that a volatile local currency was a major risk factor for higher inflation. Rand strength had been underpinned by the generally positive sentiment towards emerging markets‚ as well as sustained trade surpluses, Bank gov...
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