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Johannesburg - The rand held steady against the dollar in
early trade on Friday but was set to end 2011 as one of the worst-performing
currencies of the year, suffering a whiplash reaction from investors spooked by
Europe’s debt crisis.
The rand was at R8.17 to the dollar at 06:40 GMT, not far
off its R8.1816 close in New York on Thursday.
The currency opened 2011 at R6.57 against the dollar, but
has since lost nearly 19% in value and stands neck and neck with Turkey’s lira
as the poorest emerging market performer.
“Emerging markets have suffered because of outside
influences this year,” said Jim Bryson, a trader at Rand Merchant Bank.
“Left to our own devices with the strong commodities and everything else the rand would have had a reasonable year. There’s just been so much going on with Europe that the emerging markets haven’t been the main focus,” he said.
The currency tested the R8.10 resistance area on Wednesday
but has since retreated as Europe’s festering debt crisis has kept investors from buying
riskier assets.
“I expect more of the same today. We’ve been very range
trading this week as the year limps to an end,” Bryson said.
The bond market has been very quiet this week with yields
barely moving in an illiquid market that has closed at 10:00 GMT for the past
two weeks.
The yield on the benchmark 2015 bond dropped 1 basis point
to 6.75% while the 2026 issue edged down by the same margin to 8.51%.
South African markets, including the central bank, will officially close at 10:00 GMT.
