Money SA economy
The South African rand was firmer in afternoon trade on Wednesday, supported by an improved appetite for risky assets in emerging markets, a local trader said.
The local unit reached an intraday best level of R7.68 to the dollar as global equity markets staged a rebound from Tuesday's lows.
At 3.40pm the rand was bid at R7.71 to the dollar, R9.48 to the euro and R11.09 to the pound. The euro was bid at $1.2286 from $1.2343 previously.
"The rand has rebounded reasonably well against the US dollar from Tuesday's lows. This is on the back of an improved sentiment for riskier assets as equity markets staged a strong rebound today."
Meanwhile, Dow Jones Newswires reports that the euro slipped against the dollar on Wednesday as lingering concerns a sovereign debt crisis could infect the region's financial sector kept the common currency under pressure. Interbank dollar-lending rates marched to a new 10-month high, as risk-wary banks remained cautious about lending to each other given possible exposure to debt from fiscally stressed euro-zone peripheral countries, such as Greece and Spain.
