Earlier, the rand found some support after confirmation the Chinese had agreed to resume soybean imports, and drop tariffs on vehicles from the US.
Local data, however, was slightly downbeat, with consumer inflation climbing to 5.2% in November, slightly ahead of the Trading Economics consensus forecast of 5.1%.
Retail sales data, on the other hand, was positive, growing 2.2% year-on-year in November, ahead of a forecast of 1.8%.
The retail sales figures indicate a robust start to the fourth quarter of the year, but the inflation figures point to another interest-rate increase in the first quarter of 2019, said Capital Economics senior emerging-markets economist John Ashbourne.
– BusinessLIVE