THE South African rand retained its firm foothold on Wednesday morning floated by positive sentiment, dealers said. The rand was last quoted at R8.0820 to the U.S. dollar from a previous close of 8.0700. “Dollars have been long and dealers have been clearing their long positions, which has helped the rand firm quite a bit,” a currency trader said. “We are now seeing a lot of local as well as offshore interest to sell dollars.” A dealer said market sentiment had turned from negative to positive. The rand has recovered more than 12 cents since recording an all-time worst of 8.20 on Monday. Dealers said they were now turning their attention to the European Central Bank meeting, which takes place on Thursday but few analysts expect a cut in the refinancing rate. “Depending on the euro, the rand could go either way,” the dealer said.
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