The rand is climbing as thousands of South Africans gather to protest against the president

The South African rand is climbing after several thousand people ralliedin Pretoria, South Africa, protesting against President Jacob Zuma.The currency is higherby 0.6% at 13.7341 per dollar as of 7:48 a.m. ET.Wednesday's rally against Zuma was the second major protestin less thana week.Separately, retail sales in South Africa fell by 1.7% year-over-year in February, better thanexpectations of a 1.8% drop, and an improvement from the prior month's 2.3% drop.As for the rest of the world, here's the scoreboard as of 7:57 a.m. ET:The British pound is little changed at 1.2496 against the dollar as data show that wage growth is slowing in the UK. Average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, rose 2.2% in the three months up to February, the lowest reading since the immediate aftermath of the Brexit referendum in June.The euro is little changed at 1.0602 against the dollar. Spanish CPI rose by 2.3% year-over-year in March, in line with expectations, and steady from the prior month's reading.The US dollar index is little changed at 100.73 ahead of a quiet data day. Import and export prices will be releasedat 8:30 a.m. ET.The Russian ruble is down by 0.3% at 57.0644 per dollar, while Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, is upby 0.5% at $56.51 per barrel.The Korean wonclosed up by 0.5% at 1,140.24 per dollar after declining for sixconsecutive sessions.The Japanese yen is little changed at 109.64 per dollar.SEE ALSO:An Ivy League professor explains chaos theory, the prisoner's dilemma, and why math isn't really boringJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Children who eat too much sugar are developing diseases that only alcoholics used to get
Click here to read full news..