The South African rand was steady against major currencies in late morning trade on Monday, ignoring a slightly softer euro to trade range bound in a quiet market characterised by small two-way interest.
At 1147, the rand was trading at 7,5530 to the dollar from a New York close of 7,5450. It was also little changed against the euro and sterling, trading at 8,4996 from a previous 8,4978 against the former and at 12,2695 from Friday’s 12,2807 against the latter.
The euro was quoted at $1,1262 from $1,1289 late on Friday in New York, while
gold was quoted at $344,50 an ounce from Friday’s $343.63/oz.
“There is nothing going on. The rand has basically been trading in a 7,55 to 7,58 range. At 7,55 we’ve seen importers and at 7,58 exporters,” a currency trader said.
He continued that the rand had once again ceased to track the euro. The rand weakened slightly on Friday in a move that was triggered by a weaker euro, but later came off its worst levels in small two-way trade. The rand sometimes takes direction from the euro as Europe is South Africa’s largest trading partner.
“I think the rand is going to stay in a 7,50 to 7,60 range for the next couple of days,” the trader concluded. – I-Net Bridge