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Johannesburg - The rand weakened by over 10 cents
on Wednesday afternoon as European political turmoil continued to upset
emerging market sentiment.
An analyst said attention had shifted to the actions of the European Central Bank (ECB) as it attempted to counter the crisis.
The possibility of Greece's exit from the ECB has heightened global concern after reported figures showed an increase in the chances of exiting had risen to 15% from 5%. It is hoped the ECB can stop a potential Greek exit.
"The rand weakened further, with concerns about Europe still high," a local trader said.
At 15:57 local time the rand was bid at R8.0365 to the dollar from Tuesday's close of R7.9010 and Monday's close of R7.7983. It was bid at R10.3860 to the euro from R10.2639 before, and at R12.9214 against sterling from R12.7580 previously.
The euro was bid at $1.2934 from Tuesday's close of $1.2992.
Absa Bank said the rand had weakened further from yesterday's decline against the USD due to the heightened levels of global risk aversion associated with the on-going political turmoil in Europe.
The bank added that the local currency would also be affected by poor gold trading.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that the euro sagged near or breached multi-month lows against the dollar and yen in European trade Wednesday as bond markets and banking stocks continued to quake, shaken by the widening political fault lines that risk shending the euro zone's efforts to tackle its debt crisis.
Elsewhere, the pound lost ground ahead of a Bank of England monetary policy statement due Thursday, while the Australian dollar flirted with a move back below parity against the buck.
There was little appetite among investors to place aggressive bets as they struggled to decipher what the election of a left-leaning French president and the absence of a credible government in Greece might mean for the euro zone's German-led austerity fix.
The jury is still out on the extent to which French president-elect Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be able to reconcile their differences to restore confidence in the euro zone, while fresh Greek elections are seen as increasingly likely after a weekend vote failed to deliver a clear winner, according to the newswire.
An analyst said attention had shifted to the actions of the European Central Bank (ECB) as it attempted to counter the crisis.
The possibility of Greece's exit from the ECB has heightened global concern after reported figures showed an increase in the chances of exiting had risen to 15% from 5%. It is hoped the ECB can stop a potential Greek exit.
"The rand weakened further, with concerns about Europe still high," a local trader said.
At 15:57 local time the rand was bid at R8.0365 to the dollar from Tuesday's close of R7.9010 and Monday's close of R7.7983. It was bid at R10.3860 to the euro from R10.2639 before, and at R12.9214 against sterling from R12.7580 previously.
The euro was bid at $1.2934 from Tuesday's close of $1.2992.
Absa Bank said the rand had weakened further from yesterday's decline against the USD due to the heightened levels of global risk aversion associated with the on-going political turmoil in Europe.
The bank added that the local currency would also be affected by poor gold trading.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that the euro sagged near or breached multi-month lows against the dollar and yen in European trade Wednesday as bond markets and banking stocks continued to quake, shaken by the widening political fault lines that risk shending the euro zone's efforts to tackle its debt crisis.
Elsewhere, the pound lost ground ahead of a Bank of England monetary policy statement due Thursday, while the Australian dollar flirted with a move back below parity against the buck.
There was little appetite among investors to place aggressive bets as they struggled to decipher what the election of a left-leaning French president and the absence of a credible government in Greece might mean for the euro zone's German-led austerity fix.
The jury is still out on the extent to which French president-elect Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be able to reconcile their differences to restore confidence in the euro zone, while fresh Greek elections are seen as increasingly likely after a weekend vote failed to deliver a clear winner, according to the newswire.
