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Rand slips in tandem with euro decline

Johannesburg - The rand slipped on Friday after hitting a three-month high earlier in the week, as the euro came under pressure following the release of US Federal Reserve minutes that revealed increasing wariness about buying bonds.

The rand was at R8.5968 to the dollar at 06:32 GMT, slightly weaker than its close in New York on Thursday.

The euro fell to a three-week low against the dollar on Thursday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting in December indicated some policymakers were concerned about the potential risks of the central bank's asset purchases.

The rand often tracks the euro, the currency of South Africa's biggest trading block partner.

"The Fed minutes came out and... the euro had a bad night. We therefore are under a bit of pressure," said Jim Bryson, a currency trader at Rand Merchant Bank.

"The rand can weaken a bit further, maybe towards R8.64," he said.

Government bonds were also weaker, with yields on the 2026 and 2015 instruments edging up 3 basis points each to 7.33% and 5.39% respectively.
 
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Rand - Dollar
18.99
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
24.10
+0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.60
-0.0%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.37
+0.4%
Rand - Yen
0.13
+0.6%
Platinum
902.70
+0.0%
Palladium
1,006.61
+0.0%
Gold
2,155.31
-0.2%
Silver
24.95
-0.4%
Brent Crude
86.89
+1.8%
Top 40
65,506
-1.1%
All Share
71,738
-1.0%
Resource 10
52,809
-1.0%
Industrial 25
99,128
-1.3%
Financial 15
16,499
-0.7%
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