The rand extended earlier gains on Friday afternoon, after US inflation for September came in slightly lower than expected. Year-on-year inflation in the US was recorded at 2.2% in September, just below a Trading Economics consensus forecast of 2.3%. The consumer price index, measuring what Americans pay for everything from groceries to theatre tickets, advanced 0.5% in September from a month earlier, the Labor Department said on Friday. It was the largest monthly gain since January, reported Dow Jones Newswires. Prices for other items rose very modestly. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core prices, increased 0.1%, the newswire said. The consensus was for a 0.6% increase from the previous month, and a 0.2% increase in core prices. The rand was trading at about R13.36/$ shortly before the announcement was made, immediately firming to R13.30, and reaching an intraday best of R13.2868. At 3pm it was at R13.3082 to the dollar from R13.4498, at R15.7818 to the euro fr...
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