Money SA economy
The South African rand maintained its strong showing in midday play on Monday amid a weaker dollar against other major currencies, according to a local trader.
At 11.40am local time the rand was bid at R7.28 to the dollar, R9.34 to the euro and R11.36 to the pound. The euro was bid at US$1.2807 from $1.2769 overnight.
"Overall the rand remains still quite strong. The main drivers seem to be, in the short term, the dollar performance against the majors and foreign interest in South African bonds," a local trader said.
Global risk for currencies this week comes from the German August ZEW investor confidence data, as well as US July housing starts, PPI and industrial production data - all due Tuesday.
Dow Jones Newswires reports that the euro started the day weak but then bounced off support at $1.2730. The currency's rebound coincided with a slightly better tone among European stock markets, but even those gains were soon turned into small losses as European trading got underway.
