/ 15 January 2003

Rand steady in good two-way trade

The South African rand was little changed against major currencies late Tuesday morning compared with its previous close. Dealers said the market had been characterised by good two-way trade, which had seen the rand trade in a range of between 8,59 and 8,65 to the US dollar.

At 1135, the rand was trading at 8,6430 to the dollar from a New York close of

8,6305. It was also little changed against the euro, trading at 9,1281 from a previous 9,1302. The rand was a tad firmer against sterling, trading at 13,8255 from Monday’s 13,8991.

“We have seen importers at around 8,60 and exporters at around 8,65. There has been good two-way business which has seen the rand bouncing between 8,59 and 8,65,” a currency dealer said.

He expected the rand to remain in its current range, trading between 8,58 to 8,68 to the dollar for the rest of the day. – I-Net Bridge