Money SA economy
A volatile rand was within ranges in the morning session, but lacked any clear direction.
At 08.48am the rand was bid at R7.87 to the dollar from R7.96 at its previous close. It was at R11.67 to the euro and R12.91 to the pound.
A local trader said: "The rand has been up and down this morning within a range of 7.82-8.02 against the dollar with no clear direction. Anything above eight could be significant, and for the moment we are volatile within ranges."
RMB analysts John Cairns and Nema Ramkhelawan said it is a little surprising that US dollar/rand was as high as R7.92 this morning given that Wall Street bounced overnight, that gold is testing up at new highs, and that all compatriot currencies were performing better.
"Euro/rand is even more surprising, pushing up to R11.80 at one stage yesterday, the highest since May of this year," the analysts said.
Dow Jones Newswires reported the dollar dipped in Asia after the International Monetary Fund made a big gold sale to India, but the US currency rebounded as Australia's central bank signalled it may pause its monetary tightening next month. The moves were mostly modest in thin trade as Japanese markets were closed for a national holiday.
