Money SA economy
The South African rand was trapped in a tight range on Wednesday midday, ahead of further news out of Greece on its fiscal issues.
At 11.39am the rand was bid at R7.58 to the dollar, R10.33 to the euro and R11.39 to the pound. The euro was bid at $1.3638 from $1.3619 previously.
A local currency trader said: "It’s very quiet at the moment with the rand in a tight range. More news on Greece is expected today, with the range at 7.56-7.61 against the dollar."
In their morning commentary, RMB analysts noted that with Euro/US dollar playing along this means USD/ZAR is threatening to break sustainably through the 7.58 level. "Euro/rand and GB pound/rand are already at post-crisis lows.
"We face event risk from EU and US non-manufacturing PMI data today but moves lower on all the crosses seems possible.
One constraint however is that the ZAR is a little extended versus other currencies," the analysts said.
They noted however that the Greek news remains positive.
Dow Jones Newswires reports in the currency markets the euro has been supported by easing concerns over Greece's debt problems, while the pound gained amid doubts over Prudential's ability to buy American International Group's Asian operations. Prudential would have to sell sterling and buy dollars to complete the deal.
