Rand edges up in early trade

File photo: Nadine Hutton.

File photo: Nadine Hutton.

Published Apr 22, 2015

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Johannesburg - South Africa's rand was a touch firmer against the dollar in early Wednesday trade but would, alongside other emerging market currencies, remain vulnerable to spurts of risk aversion linked to Greece's debt woes.

Traders were also eyeing domestic consumer inflation numbers due out at 08h00 GMT for pointers on whether the central bank would hike interests rates at its policy meeting next month.

By 06h28 GMT, the rand was trading at 12.1100 to the greenback, up just 0.11 percent from its New York close at 12.1230 on Tuesday.

The rand's outlook remained mostly a reflection of euro/dollar, which had been swinging in ranges between 1.0450 and 1.10 since March and looked settled around 1.07, RMB currency analyst John Cairns said in a market note.

“Greece presents a major risk to the rand, both through euro/dollar and via global risk appetite,” he added.

The euro edged lower on Wednesday, pressured by continued uncertainty over Greece's debt negotiations.

South African edged higher, and yields were inversely down, with the benchmark 2026 instrument shedding a basis point to 7.945 percent.

Reuters

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