The rand was steady against the dollar in morning trade on Friday as it tracked a euro made firmer by the latest Greek bailout.
"The Greek story is positive for all emerging markets and the rand should continue to do well," a local currency trader said.
"I put dollar rand in a range of 6.74 to 6.82 to start off with, but if we get through 6.74 then I put the range at 6.70 to 6.80," he added.
At 08:37 local time, the rand was bid at 6.7661 to the dollar from its previous close of 6.7648. It was bid at 9.7316 to the euro from 9.7446 before, and at 11.0080 against sterling from 11.0254 previously.
The euro was at US$1.4399 from US$1.4415.
Standard Bank analysts said in a morning note that the bias was still in favour of an extended rand recovery.
"The rand is still reclaiming its recent losses, mainly in response to a plan by EU leaders which participants believe should contain the contagion risk from Greece's debt crisis.
"Also, the US seems close to raising its debt ceiling, which supported risk appetite yesterday and thereby the rand."
Standard Bank added that the SA Reserve Bank's unchanged repo rate decision yesterday had been no surprise, but the dovish tone of the statement probably prevented a more extensive rand recovery.
"However, confirmation that the US has indeed reached a resolution about its debt ceiling should translate into further rand strength. Therefore, extended rand short-covering today cannot be ruled out."
Meanwhile Dow Jones Newswires reported that the euro on Friday held onto most of its gains made overnight on news of a comprehensive bailout package for Greece, but doubts about a long-term solution for the euro zone's debt problems made traders in Asia wary of pushing the single currency higher.
The EUR159 billion bailout "went beyond market expectations," BNP Paribas said in a research note, calling the agreement "a major step towards stabilizing the markets and a resolution of the debt crisis."
Leaders of the 17 euro zone member countries agreed to enhance the European Financial Stability Facility, giving the bailout fund more flexibility in its purchases and allowing it to buy sovereign debt in the secondary market if deemed necessary. The European Central Bank could also accept Greek bonds as collateral for its fund provision even if Greece was placed on selective default by rating agencies.
Traders were, however, cautious about the euro's prospects ahead.
"The euro is likely to react negatively when rating agencies actually put Greece into default", said Yoshiko Takayasu, manager of foreign exchange sales at Royal Bank of Canada in Tokyo.
"Given this, the euro is unlikely to have a firm footing above $1.4500," she said.
Yuji Saito, director at Credit Agricole in Tokyo, said the bailout was "far from a fundamental solution."
"There is doubt over whether the bailout is large enough to cover other countries when contagion spreads," he said.
