Softer rand targets R7.50

Johannesburg - The rand eyed R7.50 against the US dollar on Tuesday afternoon as the euro lost ground against the dollar.

At 15:40 the rand was bid at R7.4515 to the dollar from R7.3868 at its previous close. It was bid at R10.0838 to the euro from its previous close of R10.0756 and was at R11.1214 against the sterling from R11.1210.

The euro was bid at $1.3544 from $1.3618 previously.

"We saw support at R7.36 against the dollar overnight. If we push through R7.42-43 against the dollar, we could see R7.50," said a local currency trader, noting a softer euro against the dollar.

Dow Jones Newswires reported that in the European foreign exchanges, the euro lost ground against the dollar. At 12:00 GMT, the euro was trading at $1.3563, down from $1.3634 in late New York trade on Monday.

Sterling extended Monday's losses against the dollar, and fell to $1.4962 from $1.5066 in late New York trade, dragged lower by the prospects of a hung UK parliament in the forthcoming elections.

Earlier, Dow Jones Newswires reported that the euro came under fresh selling pressure in Europe on Tuesday as the market waited to see how US President Barack Obama responded to a request from Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou for help in resolving his country's debt crisis.

Overall, global sentiment has slumped once again as investors took a more realistic view of plans for launching a European Monetary Fund to provide help for eurozone countries in the future.

As German Chancellor Angela Merkel pointed out, the proposed fund would require a new European treaty and would hardly be of any use in the current crisis.

Meanwhile, the market waited to see how Papandreou's talks with Obama would proceed and how much support it might provide for the debt-burdened eurozone nation as it struggles to impose austerity measures for reducing its deficit.

- I-Net Bridge