Johannesburg - The rand drifted lower
at noon‚ albeit on low volumes‚ as the euro retreated against the
dollar.
At 11.55am the rand was bid at R8.2157
to the dollar from Tuesday’s close of R8.1618. It was bid at
R10.1545 to the euro from its previous close of R10.1160 and at
R12.7968 against sterling from R12.7452 before.
The euro was bid at $1.2355 from
$1.2393.
“For the last three days‚ the local
currency has been trading at almost identical levels between 8.12 and
8.20 to the US dollar‚” said a local trader. “The guys will be
watching the Chinese data due on Thursday closely. These include
retail sales and industrial output.”
With global equity markets on the march
and the euro still holding onto last week’s strength‚ it seems
unlikely that the rand will retreat in the short term‚ Absa Capital
said.