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Johannesburg - The rand remained weaker against the dollar in early evening trade on Thursday, despite getting a boost earlier in the day by the Reserve Bank's decision to keep interest rates on hold.
It was bid at at R6.93/$ at the JSE's close from R6.80/$ at Wednesday's close.
Earlier, the rand tumbled to an eight-week low against the dollar, weighed down by a weakness in the euro and falling commodity prices.
In thin trading ahead of the Reserve Bank's announcement, the rand was down to R6.9611/$, 1.07% weaker than Wednesday's New York close of R6.89/$. It hit R6.9664/$ earlier, its weakest since March 21.
The rand came off its worst levels of the day after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank announced that it would keep the repo rate steady at 5.5%.
"The rand was a little better even before the decision was announced - however, it's still under pressure from the dollar," a local currency trader said.
Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus said after the MPC meeting that while the unit was volatile at the moment, the rand remained a strong currency.
She conceded, however, that the rand's volatility did affect decisions of the MPC.
"But it's not just a rand story, it's also a dollar story," she noted.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that risk-sensitive currencies took a beating in European trading hours on Thursday, with the euro hitting one-month lows against the dollar, as a commodities sell-off knocked currency investor confidence.
The fall in commodity prices helped the dollar make gains against most currencies, while sparking a sell-off in commodity-linked currencies such as the Australian and Canadian dollars.
It was bid at at R6.93/$ at the JSE's close from R6.80/$ at Wednesday's close.
Earlier, the rand tumbled to an eight-week low against the dollar, weighed down by a weakness in the euro and falling commodity prices.
In thin trading ahead of the Reserve Bank's announcement, the rand was down to R6.9611/$, 1.07% weaker than Wednesday's New York close of R6.89/$. It hit R6.9664/$ earlier, its weakest since March 21.
The rand came off its worst levels of the day after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank announced that it would keep the repo rate steady at 5.5%.
"The rand was a little better even before the decision was announced - however, it's still under pressure from the dollar," a local currency trader said.
Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus said after the MPC meeting that while the unit was volatile at the moment, the rand remained a strong currency.
She conceded, however, that the rand's volatility did affect decisions of the MPC.
"But it's not just a rand story, it's also a dollar story," she noted.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that risk-sensitive currencies took a beating in European trading hours on Thursday, with the euro hitting one-month lows against the dollar, as a commodities sell-off knocked currency investor confidence.
The fall in commodity prices helped the dollar make gains against most currencies, while sparking a sell-off in commodity-linked currencies such as the Australian and Canadian dollars.
