JOHANNESBURG Feb 7 (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand
was softer against the dollar on Tuesday as concerns over
Greece’s debt problems put a dampener on global risk appetite
and caused emerging market currencies to reverse some of the
gains they posted in January.
The rand was little moved by data showing the Reserve Bank
used a weaker dollar in January to boost its foreign exchange
reserves although analysts said this should be positive for the
currency in the long term.
By 0723 GMT the rand was at 7.5636 against the
dollar, down 0.29 percent from Monday’s closing level of 7.5420.
“I think we’re going to have a range probably of 7.56-7.66
for the day to start up with but I still think we’re going to
see some import demand at the lower part of that range,” RMB
trader Lee Naisbitt said.
The rand staged a strong rally in January, culminating in a
5-month high of 7.5220 last week. The currency has gained about
6 percent against the greenback since the start of the year,
reversing part of its 23 percent loss in 2011.
“I think it’s going to start struggling at these levels
because we’ve done a lot these past couple of weeks,” Naisbitt
said.
Government bonds have also been taking a breather after a
strong run in January and yields have pulled back from recent
three-month lows.
On Tuesday the yield on the 2015 bond was flat at
6.51 percent while that for the 2026 issue edged up
one basis point to 8.175 percent.
(Reporting by Stella Mapenzauswa; Editing by Ed Cropley)
© Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved
