Money SA economy
The rand weakened in afternoon trade on Friday as the euro fell against the US dollar amid reports that Hungary might be experiencing fiscal difficulties similar to Greece, a local trader said.
He added that emerging market currencies, including the rand, felt the impact as investors opted out of risky assets.
The rand weakened to an intraday worst level of R7.77/$ before recovering slightly. At 15.39pm the rand was bid at R7.7037/$ from R7.6581/$ at its previous close. It was bid at R9.3053/€ from its previous close of R9.3313/€ and was at R11.2361/£ from R11.2061/£.
The euro was bid at $1.2053 from $1.2171 previously.
A local trader said: "The rand came off against the US dollar as the euro took a tumble against the greenback amid reports that Hungary might be encountering fiscal challenges like Greece in Europe. This piled pressure on the euro given the uncertainties around the sovereignty debts afflicting some of the eurozone countries."
Dow Jones Newswires reports that the euro dropped to its lowest level in four years Friday after a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report added to fresh concerns over euro-zone sovereign debt, leading investors to file out of riskier assets.
