Local trader says news about China setting the yuan's reference exchange rate at a record high could have been a reason for the euro’s rise
The rand was softer against the dollar in late afternoon trade on Friday as European stability and Chinese growth concerns continued to weigh.
Euro moves during the afternoon session attracted the attention of dealers.
I still can't work out why the euro made gains,? a local currency trader said.
It could have been on news about China setting the yuan's reference exchange rate at a record high that the euro rose, but that can't be the sole reason,? he added.
The rand's euro correlation is there, but it's not 100% at the moment, but I can say that from a dollar rand perspective, there's definitely good selling interest at 7.75.?
At 15:32 local time, the rand was bid at R7.7205/$ from its previous close of R7.6966/$. It was bid at R10.2100/€ from R10.1628/€ before, and at R12.2148/£ from R12.1751/£ previously.
The euro was bid at $1.3234 from its previous close of $1.3205.
Meanwhile Dow Jones Newswires reported that the euro clawed back some lost ground to hit a two-week high against the dollar during a quiet European session on Friday as currency traders took stock of the week's Chinese growth and Spanish fiscal worries and cashed in some of their bets ahead of the weekend.
