The rand was little changed in the afternoon session on Tuesday‚ from the midday levels‚ in subdued trade.
At 15:42 local time the rand was bid at R8.1859 to the dollar from Monday’s close of 8.1875. It was bid at R10.0625 to the euro from its previous close of R10.0391 and at R12.8049 against sterling from R12.8643 before. The euro was bid at US$1.2295 from Monday’s close of $1.2259.
“Until the markets get some sort of clarity about stimulus measures from either the European Central Bank or the US Federal Reserve‚ we will continue to trade sideways‚” said Henry Flint‚ head of research at Thebe Stockbrocking.
The euro got a slight lift against the dollar after France's President Francois Hollande became the latest European official to reiterate his commitment to the euro and supporting it‚ Dow Jones Newswires reported.
Once again‚ details were limited‚ but the market still seemed to react positively.
The growing chorus of euro-defending comments could be stoking expectations that the ECB will make some major push to support the euro and peripheral bonds at its meeting later this week. - I-Net Bridge