Rand breaks through key level

The rand rallied in the afternoon session on Thursday, breaking a key level of R10.25/€.

The local currency also tested R7.42 against the greenback.  At 3.27pm, the rand was bid at R7.43 to the dollar, R10.18 to the euro and R11.23 to the pound. The euro was bid at $1.3662 from $1.3700 previously.

A local currency trader said: "We broke a key level of 10.25 against the euro, and 7.45 against the dollar. If we see that level consistently, the rand should ratchet down to 7.42."

The Dow Jones Newswires reported that the euro slipped against the dollar Thursday as investors continued to worry whether Greece can get its fiscal house in order, while awaiting a morning European Central Bank press conference for any word on how the euro zone might support Greek efforts.

The ECB earlier left key euro zone rates unchanged.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England earlier offered the pound some support after it also stood pat on key rates, while deciding against an expansion of the government's bond-buying program, known as quantitative easing.

In a sign that the euro zone sovereign debt picture could brighten, the Greek government's offering for a 10-year bond attracted around €14.5 billion in bids and the books have closed, the head of the country's debt management agency said Thursday.