Money SA economy
The rand was range bound in afternoon trade on Wednesday tracking euro movement.
At 3.34pm local time the rand was bid at R7.35 to the dollar, R9.54 to the euro and R11.47 to the pound. The euro was bid at $1.2997 from $1.2988 overnight.
A local dealer said: "It has quietened down this afternoon, with the local currency trading in a range. We need to break 7.37 against the dollar to see any real movement," she said.
Dow Jones Newswires reports that a recent string of worse-than-expected US data have drawn investor attention to the US economy, taking the focus off the euro-zone's sovereign-debt worries and allowing the euro to hover recently around $1.30.
"US data may not be helpful for the dollar near-term," said Brown Brothers Harriman analysts.
Demand for US manufactured durable goods slid in June for a second consecutive month in another sign the manufacturing sector expansion is slowing.
Worry over the US economy taking a downturn is weighing on the dollar, Wilkinson said. Investors will pour over the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, to be released at 2 p.m. EDT, for another assessment of the US recovery from the perspective of the regional Fed banks.
