Rand at 8.46 against the US dollar

Graphic: renjith krishnan

Graphic: renjith krishnan

Published Jul 23, 2012

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The rand slipped further in afternoon trade amidst growing concerns over the eurozone debt-crisis.

The local currency has been under-pressure since last Friday‚ on risk aversion.

Concerns over the 17-member bloc’s growth resurfaced as EU Finance Ministers approved EUR100bn financial aid for Spanish banks. However‚ the mood quickly soured when Spanish authorities announced that the country was likely to remain in recession until 2014.

At 15:41 the rand was bid at R8.4677 to the dollar from its previous close of R8.2682. It was bid at R10.2305 to the euro from its previous close of R10.0260 and at R13.1113 against sterling from R12.9076 before.

The euro was bid at US$1.2086 from its previous close of $1.2121.

Henry Flint of Thebe Stockbrocking said: “People are concerned about what is happening in Europe: the Spanish bank bailouts and the review on Greece later in the week‚ to see if it has met conditions for austerity measures. It is more risk aversion than anything else.”

Meanwhile Dow Jones Newswires reported the euro hit new two-year lows against the dollar in early trade on Monday as Spanish government borrowing costs continued to climb and Greek eurozone exit worries resurfaced‚ but then recovered its poise as the European session wore on.

The future of the eurozone remained uppermost on currency traders' minds as benchmark Spanish bonds and European stock markets fell sharply‚ while experts from the so-called troika of international lenders - the European Commission‚ the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund - were due to visit Greece on Tuesday to review the country's reform programme. - I-Net Bridge

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