Money SA economy
The rand was on the back foot in afternoon trade on Thursday in line with other emerging market currencies amid risk aversion.
A local dealer said market players were removing risky positions from the table ahead of the US non-farm jobs data on Friday.
At 3.51pm local time the rand was bid at R7.70 to the dollar, R9.58 to the euro and R11.63 to the pound. The euro was bid at $1.2414 from $1.2229 overnight.
A local dealer said: "The rand was a lot weaker today on persistent risk aversion in line with emerging currencies ahead of the US jobs data on Friday.
"There is speculation in the market that the data may disappoint. As a result, we have players taking risky positions off the table."
Dow Jones Newswires reports that the euro advanced strongly against the dollar on Thursday as a successful Spanish government bond auction sparked some confidence in the region's banking system, despite a ratings agency's warning a day earlier that Spain could lose its coveted top-shelf credit rating.
Even though the euro pushed higher, disappointing global economic data, including Thursday's worse-than-expected reading of U.S. weekly jobless claims, conspired to drive lower currencies most closely tied to the pace of global growth, such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars.
