Johannesburg – The rand weakened against the US dollar on Thursday as the European Central Bank’s (ECB) announcement detailing its $1trn on bond buying programme failed to halt the greenback's strong run.
At 16:20 GMT the rand had softened 0.3% to R11.8285/$ in volatile trade. It earlier gained close to 0.5% to R11.7300, its strongest level in a week, after the ECB's announcement.
The dollar index showed the greenback maintaining its positive run as it chalked up 0.44% against a basket of major currencies, with the euro a major loser, down 0.51%.