Money SA economy
The rand was firm in the morning session on Thursday ahead of the long Easter weekend. A trader noted that the local currency was likely to trade in a range of 7.25-7.35 against the dollar.
At 9.05am the rand was bid at R7.28 to the dollar, R9.83 to the euro and R11.06 to the pound, very similar levels to yesterday’s close. The euro was bid at $1.3479 from $1.3506 previously.
A local trader said: "The rand is strong, but nothing to get too excited about as we have come off these levels pretty quickly in the past. We are likely to trade in a range of 7.25-7.35 against the dollar ahead of the Easter weekend.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that the dollar rose to a three-month high against the yen in Asia Thursday as Japanese life insurance companies and other institutional investors bought the U.S. currency at the start of the Japanese fiscal year.
In morning trade in Tokyo, the dollar hit Y93.65, its highest since Jan. 8.
