Johannesburg - The rand was softer against the dollar during midday trade on Wednesday as pre-budget jitters kept equities and forex desks on their toes.
“Today is pretty much about the pre-budget excitement‚” said Ockert van Niekerk‚ head of trading PSG. “We will need to see how Treasury will balance tax increases with bond issues. The rand might react but seems pretty steady at the R8.85/$ level for now.”
At 11:43‚ the rand was bid at R8.8540/$ from R8.8219 at Tuesday’s close. The local currency was bid at R11.5730/€ from its previous close of R11.5285 and at R13.3731 against sterling from R13.3443 before.
The euro was bid at $1.3071 from $1.3068 at Tuesday’s close.
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