Rand on the front foot at noon

The rand remained on the front foot in midday trade on Wednesday, despite continued global uncertainty and heightened fears of a double dip recession.

At 11.54am local time the rand was bid at R7.34 to the dollar, R9.30 to the euro and R11.32 to the pound. The euro was bid at US$1.2664 from $1.2668 overnight.

A local dealer said that focus appeared to be on the yen's performance against the majors. "I have no real opinion about the rand's movement at present. I thought we were going to see it weaken, but that just hasn't happened.”

RMB analysts said in a morning report that risks of a double-dip recession are growing. "International data since mid-July has been very disappointing, especially in the US, and yesterday's housing data was probably the worst of the lot.

Dow Jones Newswires reported that the euro bounced on a stronger-than-expected Ifo survey from Germany. The dollar, meanwhile, was mixed as concerns over the global recovery continued to limit risk appetites.