The rand was steady against major currencies just before noon on Tuesday in very quiet trade. Currency traders said that there was no interest in the market and saw the rand trading in a similar range to Monday for the rest of the day.
At 1141, the rand was trading at 7,9051 to the dollar from a New York close of 7,8619. Its worst level for the morning so far was 7,9534, while its best was 7,8656 touched early in the morning.
The rand was little changed against sterling at 12.6404 from Monday’s 12,6328. It was quoted at 8,7168 against the euro from a previous 8,7181.
The euro was trading at $1,1031 from $1,1056 late on Monday in New York, while gold was quoted at $352,12 an ounce from a previous $354,25/oz.
“There is absolutely nothing happening. The market is absolutely dead and the rand isn’t tracking anything,” a currency trader said. He said that the total lack of interest in the market extended to the corporate and commercial sector.
The rand had weakened a tad overnight on the back of a strong dollar. After testing 7,86, it lost ground again to trade around to around 7,89 to 7,91. – I-Net Bridge