Rand eases on Greece, no impact from data

Johannesburg - The rand traded near the previous session's three-week lows on Tuesday, taking its cue from weak markets in major commodity importer China and while investors continued to fret about the impact of Greece's financial woes.

With market focus firmly on global markets, the rand barely moved on the South African Reserve Bank data showing net gold and foreign exchange reserves ticked slightly higher to $41.59bn in June.

READ: Net reserves tick up slightly in June

The rand has weakened over 7% against the dollar since the beginning of the year under selling pressure from investors anticipating higher interest rates in the United States.

More recently, investors worried about the implications of Greece's debt problems have sold riskier emerging market assets, hitting the rand particularly hard as South Africa relies heavily on portfolio flows to plug its current account deficit.

READ: Current account deficit narrows, spending rises

At 08:53 the local unit traded 0.4% softer at R12.4410/$ compared with Monday's close.

"The rand is languishing at weak levels and faces risks from Greece and the slide in Chinese equities," Rand Merchant Bank currency analyst John Cairns said.

Government bonds were flat ahead of a weekly debt auction at 11:00, with the yield on paper maturing in 2026 unchanged at 8.275%.