Rand in a range, tracks euro

Johannesburg - A firmer rand continued to trade in a range by midday on Monday, tracking the euro.

However a local currency trader noted that the single currency appeared to be oversold and could see a bounce.

At 11:33 the rand was bid at R7.5516 to the dollar from R7.5774 at its previous close. It was bid at R10.5181 to the euro from its previous close of R10.5300 and was at R12.0359 against the sterling from R12.1144.

The euro was bid at $1.3907 from $1.3874 previously.

A local trader noted that the rand was still range-bound, and very little changed from weekend levels, tracking the euro. "However the single currency does look oversold so we could see a bounce."

RMB analysts said in their morning report that the USD/ZAR will be very lucky if it can avoid pushing upwards out of its R7.54-R7.66 range and past R7.72.

"Various pressures are evident. Most importantly, EUR/USD continues its slide. Greek fears are weighing and fiscal concerns are now extending to France. US 4Q09 data was surprisingly positive, rising 5.7% q/q, showing quite clearly that the US is going to be the outperformer in the economic recovery," they said.

Dow Jones Newswires reports that in the foreign exchange markets, the euro steadied, although analysts said the outlook for it remains grim. "No one wants to own euros right now," said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT Forex in New York. "No one believes Greece is able to solve its problems, and recent initiatives won't be enough to turn around their fiscal situation," she added.

By 09:00 GMT, the euro was trading at $1.3898, up from $1.3863 in late New York trade on Friday, and at ¥125.66, up from ¥125.23.

- I-Net Bridge