Money SA economy
The South African rand strengthened on the back of a firmer euro in midday trade on Thursday. Traders said the rand was also being supported by a strong performance from the Dow and expected positive results from a European bank stress test.
At 11.37am local time the rand was bid at R7.57 to the dollar, R9.83 to the euro and R11.45 to the pound. The euro was bid at $1.2656 from $1.2631 overnight.
A local trader said that the local currency is still tracking the euro, which is strengthening on the back of expected positive news from the results of the bank stress test conducted by the continental central bank. The positive sentiment from the major world markets, especially the Dow is also still spilling over onto the currency markets.
"We see the currency being range-bound between 7.55-7.65 to the US dollar, the positive news from the Dow as well as the expected positive news from the European bank stress test results are rand positive. Thus we see the currency remaining relatively strong in this session," he concluded.
Overnight the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its biggest one-day gain since May 27, rising 2.8% to 10 018.28, taking it back above the key 10 000-point level.
Dow Jones Newswires reported that another strong wave of positive sentiment swept in from the US and Asia Thursday, pushing the yen lower and helping the euro to a seven-week high against the dollar.
