Money SA economy
The rand softened in midday trade on Wednesday amid a weak euro, which reached a fresh four-year low against the dollar, and some profit taking on euro/rand.
At 11.50am the rand was bid at R7.76 to the dollar, R9.46 to the euro and R11.06 to the pound. The euro was bid at $1.2184 from $1.2179 previously.
A local trader said: "If the rand gets to 7.79-80 against the dollar we could weaken significantly," he said.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that euro plunged to a fresh four-year low against the dollar as traders digested news that Germany's financial regulator has banned some types of short-selling in euro-zone debt and selected financial stocks.
Currencies seen as safe havens in times of stress - the yen and the dollar among them - also jumped higher on the news, while riskier currencies like sterling, the Australian dollar and the Canadian dollar suffered.
Analysts were generally uncertain on just how the ban by the German regulator BaFin will trickle through to the 16-country currency. Investors are unsure exactly which instruments will be affected, and many fear that similar legislation could be enforced elsewhere in the euro zone.
That is jangling already frayed nerves, and with negative positions in debt now more difficult to place, the euro is taking the strain.
