The rand was a touch softer against the dollar on Monday amid some consolidation following Friday’s firmer closing levels due to better-than-expected US labour market data.
At 08:55 local time the rand was bid at R8.1509 to the dollar from Friday’s close of R8.1441. It was bid at R10.0794 to the euro from its previous close of R10.0799 and at R12.7154 against sterling from R12.7183 before.
The euro was bid at US$1.2375 from $1.2389.
“We have very little today by way of data; therefore‚ I expect markets to be fairly range-bound‚” a local trader said.
RMB said in a note that global markets were stronger this morning than at any stage last week but none of the uncertainty over Europe or the global economy had been resolved.
“Stepping back somewhat‚ it seems the rand is still far too weak. Its compatriot high-yielding currencies have rallied hard and risk appetite remains strong. There is still no explanation for the rand’s underperformance‚” RMB said. - I-Net Bridge