Money SA economy
The South African rand was little changed from its earlier levels on Tuesday afternoon tracking movement from the major currencies.
At 15.32pm the rand was bid at R7.53 to the dollar, R9.24 to the euro and R11.13 to the pound. The euro was bid at $1.2291 from $1.2314 overnight.
A local dealer noted very little action on the markets ahead of the football game between South Africa and France. "We are tracking movement from the majors, but trade is very muted," he said.
Dow Jones Newswires reports that the dollar strengthened against its rivals Tuesday as optimism over possible rise in the Chinese yuan continued to fade and worries over the health of the European financial sector led investors out of riskier assets.
Traders said the day's moves added to uncertainty over the pace and extent of any yuan appreciation in the months ahead.
The uncertainty led investors to file out of assets considered riskier, benefiting the dollar and yen over the euro, the commodity-backed dollar bloc and emerging-market currencies.
Fresh worries over the euro-zone sovereign debt crisis, and the possibility it will infect the region's banking system, also continued to drag down investor sentiment after Monday's downgrade by Fitch Ratings of French banking giant BNP Paribas.
