The rand headed for its biggest weekly decline in six against the dollar, following the euro weaker as talks to solve Greece’s debt crisis continued, damping demand for assets deemed higher risk. The rand retreated as much as 0.5 percent to 6.8980 per dollar, and traded 0.4 percent down at 6.8862 by 10:25 a.m. in Johannesburg, bringing its decline this week to 1.9 percent. The rand slipped 0.9 percent to 9.8175 per euro. The euro-area’s shared currency sank against all except two of its 16 major peers tracked by Bloomberg before European Union leaders conclude a summit in Brussels today on financing needs for debt-saddled Greece. The rand closely tracks the euro, with a correlation of 0.683 this quarter. A value of 1 would mean they moved in lock step. The eurozone accounts for 45 percent of South Africa’s exports and 34 percent of its imports, according to government data. “The rand remains at the mercy of sentiment regarding the eurozone’s sovereign debt,” Standard Bank Group Ltd. analysts led by Johannesburg-based Michael Keenan said in a research note. Standard sees the rand trading between 6.76 and 6.87 per dollar today. The rand’s three-month implied volatility versus the dollar has risen 15 basis points, or 0.15 percentage point, to 15.4 percent, a seven-month high on a closing basis. The implied volatility indicates that options traders see more price swings in coming weeks. Bonds gained. The 6.75 percent securities due 2021 added 20 cents to 89.20 rand, driving the yield down three basis points to 8.39 percent. To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Brand in Cape Town at rbrand9@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net

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