Money SA economy
The rand was virtually unmoved from its earlier levels by midday on Tuesday, with an eye on the major currencies for further direction.
At 11.39 the rand was bid at R7.50 to the dollar, R9.23 to the euro and R11.04 to the pound.
"Trade is pretty quiet with support at 7.47 against the dollar, with highs of 7.56-58," local currency trader said.
Dow Jones Newswires reports that a slightly stronger-than-expected Ifo survey from Germany as well as a rise in the Chinese yuan at its official fixing helped the euro to recover some of its earlier losses on Tuesday.
However, overall market sentiment remained highly cautious as the yuan slipped back again to levels seen on Friday before the dollar peg was released.
Also, the health of European banks was once again a market issue after Fitch downgraded BNP Paribas' long-term credit rating to AA- from AA and Standard & Poor's cautioned about the risks faced by Spanish lenders.
The reduced appetite for risk was apparent in stock markets with the Nikkei's 1.2% decline earlier in the day followed by losses of as much as 0.5% in European markets.
