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Johannesburg - The rand was firm in midday trade
on Thursday ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision on the
repo rate.
A survey of ten economists showed that none expected any change in the repo rate. The repo rate was last cut by 50 basis points to 5.5% in November 2010.
At 12:27 local time the rand was bid at R8.3492 to the dollar from Wednesday's close of 8.3737. It was bid at R10.4940 to the euro from R10.5423 and at R13.0903 against sterling from R13.1384 at the previous close.
The euro was bid at $1.2579 from Wednesday's close of $1.2594.
"The rand has firmed a bit against the crosses even though we would normally expect some risk aversion given that the eurozone crisis is spreading from the periphery to the core," a local trader said.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that German business confidence fell sharply in May by more than expected, after a rise for six months in a row, due to growing uncertainty in the eurozone, Germany's Ifo Institute said Thursday.
The Munich-based think tank's closely watched business confidence index fell in May to 106.9 points from an unrevised 109.9 in April as firms expressed greater pessimism over their business outlook.
The fall was deeper than analysts' expectations in a Dow Jones Newswires poll which expected a slight fall to 109.5.
The Ifo survey of about 7 000 German companies engaged in industry and trade showed that the recent surge in eurozone uncertainty after elections in France and Greece is affecting the German economy.
"Assessment of the current business situation deteriorated. Nevertheless, the business outlook remains above the long-term average," Ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn said.
Ifo said the two sub-indexes that constitute the main index moved in sync in May. The sub-index assessing current conditions fell to 113.3 from 117.5, while the sub-index for business expectations decreased to 100.9 from 102.7 in April.
The euro zone would be able to cope if Greece backed out of its bailout program, the Bundesbank said Wednesday. The German central bank warned in its monthly bulletin that the fallout from a possible Greek exit from the currency bloc would be "considerable but controllable with careful crisis management."
A survey of ten economists showed that none expected any change in the repo rate. The repo rate was last cut by 50 basis points to 5.5% in November 2010.
At 12:27 local time the rand was bid at R8.3492 to the dollar from Wednesday's close of 8.3737. It was bid at R10.4940 to the euro from R10.5423 and at R13.0903 against sterling from R13.1384 at the previous close.
The euro was bid at $1.2579 from Wednesday's close of $1.2594.
"The rand has firmed a bit against the crosses even though we would normally expect some risk aversion given that the eurozone crisis is spreading from the periphery to the core," a local trader said.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that German business confidence fell sharply in May by more than expected, after a rise for six months in a row, due to growing uncertainty in the eurozone, Germany's Ifo Institute said Thursday.
The Munich-based think tank's closely watched business confidence index fell in May to 106.9 points from an unrevised 109.9 in April as firms expressed greater pessimism over their business outlook.
The fall was deeper than analysts' expectations in a Dow Jones Newswires poll which expected a slight fall to 109.5.
The Ifo survey of about 7 000 German companies engaged in industry and trade showed that the recent surge in eurozone uncertainty after elections in France and Greece is affecting the German economy.
"Assessment of the current business situation deteriorated. Nevertheless, the business outlook remains above the long-term average," Ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn said.
Ifo said the two sub-indexes that constitute the main index moved in sync in May. The sub-index assessing current conditions fell to 113.3 from 117.5, while the sub-index for business expectations decreased to 100.9 from 102.7 in April.
The euro zone would be able to cope if Greece backed out of its bailout program, the Bundesbank said Wednesday. The German central bank warned in its monthly bulletin that the fallout from a possible Greek exit from the currency bloc would be "considerable but controllable with careful crisis management."
