South Africa's rand firmed on Tuesday, buoyed by data showing the economy grew more than expected in the second quarter after a shock contraction previously. At 1545 GMT, the rand was 0.84% firmer against the dollar at 15.1300. "There was a collective sigh of relief across the South African economy after economic growth surprised by expanding during the second quarter of 2019," said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM.

Statistics South Africa said GDP growth in the three months to June was 3.1%, after a revised contraction of 3.1% in the first quarter. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted an expansion of 2.4% for the quarter. On the bourse, stocks were flat with the broader All-Share index down 0.08% to 54,742 points, while the blue chips Top-40 index closed 0.03% weaker to 48,873 points. Hotel and casino group Sun International fell 5.89% to 40.61 rand, while Sasol slipped 3.39% to 260.20 rand as it struggles with its Lake Charles project in the United States.

Copyright Reuters, 2019