The South African rand was off the day’s best levels just before noon on Monday , but remained firmer than it was on Friday.
Traders said the rand was taking its cue from the euro, which gained ground against the greenback in Asian trade.
At 1141, the rand was trading at 8,0990 to the dollar from a New York close of
8,1081. Its worst level for the morning of 8,1355 remained a lot better than Friday’s
intraday worst level of 8,2750.
The rand was over 20 cents stronger against sterling at 12,7997 from Friday’s
13,0114 and almost 10 cents firmer against the euro at 8,7525 from a previous 8,8506.
The euro was trading at $1,0809 from a close of $1,0769, while gold was quoted at
$341,20 an ounce from a previous $336,00/oz.
“The rand firmed in Asia where it was taken below 8,10 on the back of the euro,” a
currency trader said. She added that it had since lost ground, but was still a lot stronger than on Friday.
“It looks like people want to take the rand higher. I wouldn’t be surprised if it went to 8,14 to 8,15 this afternoon.”
The trader said that looming war between the US and its allies had resulted in a nervous market, with players not knowing where this would take the rand. She expected the rand to trade between 8,07 and 8,15 to the dollar for the rest of the day.
On Sunday, US President George Bush and summit partners from Britain and Spain
gave the United Nations a Monday deadline to endorse the use of force to compel Iraq’s immediate disarmament, reports Dow Jones Newswires.
Pentagon officials are saying that the US is at least two days away from war, but they won’t speculate on a specific timetable so as not to compromise the tactical surprise of an attack, Cable News Network reported on Sunday. – I-Net-Bridge