Rand locked in a range

Johannesburg - A firmer rand was locked in a range on Friday, awaiting US GDP data out later, while some profit-taking was also expected on the dollar following a good week from the US currency.

At 11:41 the rand was bid at R7.5721 to the dollar from R7.6006 at its previous close. It was bid at R10.5814 to the euro from its previous close of R10.6402 and was at R12.2130 against the sterling from R12.2515.

The euro was bid at $1.3969 from $1.3962 previously.

A local trader said: "We are in ranges, we can't break R7.55 and R7.65 against the dollar.

"The euro has had a bad week, with the dollar having a good one; we might see some profit-taking," he said, also pointing to US data was expected later.

Investors will eye the release of US GDP figures at 13:30 GMT.

Dow Jones Newswires reports that in the foreign exchanges, the euro rallied as European stocks opened higher but remained under pressure. Earlier, it hit its lowest level since last July amid mounting concerns over Greece's sovereign debt and worries of a spillover into other countries such as Portugal, Spain and Italy.

At 09:15, the euro was trading at $1.3981 after falling as low as $1.3912, up from $1.3971 in late New York trade on Thursday.

- I-Net Bridge