Money SA economy
The rand was steady below R7.50 to the dollar this morning amid importer interest, a local trader said.
At 8.53am the rand was bid at R7.49 to the dollar R7.44 at its previous close. It was bid at R9.90 to the euro and R11.47 to the pound. The euro was bid at $1.3228 from $1.3268 previously.
A local trader said: "The rand has performed well amid good importer interest, and is in a range of 7.45-7.55 against the dollar. We should actually be a lot higher (softer) with the euro weaker."
RMB analysts said in their morning report that having barely digested the possibility of a sovereign default and a potential banking crisis in Greece, markets were forced to swallow news of an upward revision to the already mammoth Greek 2009 budget deficit, which spurred Moody's rating agency to downgrade Greek government bonds.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that concerns that the Group of 20 industrialized and developed nations may not come up with an effective plan to address Greece's debt problems prodded short-term investors to sell the euro in Asia Friday, sending the currency to its lowest level against the dollar in nearly a year.
