The rand held steady‚ with a firmer bias‚ against the US dollar at noon on Friday‚ as market players looked to the Greek elections on Sunday and potential fallout for forex markets.
The outcome of the election is set to determine the country’s future in the eurozone.
At 11:52 the rand was bid at R8.3522 to the dollar from Thursday’s close of R8.3667. It was bid at R10.5437 to the euro from its previous close of R10.5588 and at R12.9857 against sterling from R13.0021 before.
The euro was bid at US$1.2623‚ unchanged from Thursday’s close of $1.2623.
“The appetite for risk has improved on a relative basis. The current key support level for the rand is at 8.35 to US dollar‚” said a local dealer.
“But going into the weekend‚ the guys might want to clear their positions ahead of the Greek polls.”
Standard Bank analysts said in a note on Friday that risk sentiment received a boost on Thursday after reports circulated that leading central banks were considering taking action to boost liquidity in global markets. “Given our expectation of a positive outcome in Greece‚ however‚ the rand could be in for further short-term gains next week‚” the analysts said. - I-Net Bridge