Rand sticks to narrow range

The rand was range bound in afternoon trade on Wednesday, tracking the euro/US dollar for direction, a local dealer said.

At 3.50pm local time the rand was bid at R7.35 to the dollar, R9.32 to the euro and R11.37 to the pound. The euro was bid at $1.2662 from $1.2668 overnight.

A local dealer said: "The rand has held up quite well against the US dollar. However, it's weaker against the crosses, namely the pound and the euro. We are currently in a range of 7.29-7.40 to the US dollar."

Dow Jones Newswires reports that the dollar ticked down against the yen Wednesday, but remained up on the day, after U.S. durable goods data added to continuing worries about the U.S. economy.

The euro gave up its gains against the dollar Wednesday as concerns about the financial health of countries on the periphery of the euro zone overshadowed better-than-expected data out of Germany.