The rand was steady against the dollar on Tuesday afternoon after US inflation came in slightly higher than expected but with little indication that inflation was spiralling out of control. That would necessitate a more hawkish stance from the US Federal Reserve ahead of its interest-rate decision on Wednesday. The market is expecting a 25 basis-points increase. Higher petrol prices lifted consumer inflation in the US to 2.8% in May from 2.5% in April, slightly higher than the expected 2.7%. It is the highest inflation rate in the US since February 2012. On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged up 0.2%, the same as in April and in line with expectations. The dollar showed little reaction as the market took a wait-and-see attitude ahead of the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting on Thursday. The ECB is expected to announce the winding-down of its easing policies before year-end. Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said that while the US inflation numbers were above the Fed’s 2% target, they w...
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