The euro was bid at US$1.3287 from its previous close of US$1.3318.
Johannesburg, March 1 (I-Net Bridge) - The rand was a tad softer against the dollar in late afternoon trade on Thursday as the euro dipped during European trading hours.
"Given what the euro is doing, the rand hasn't performed too badly," a local currency trader said.
"The talk from Bernanke yesterday seems to have put the brakes on the euro and there hasn't been anything to really change that today."
The trader added that local Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) figures had been rand positive.
At 15:49 local time, the rand was bid at R7.4869 to the dollar from its previous close of R7.4716. It was bid at R9.9391 to the euro from R9.9484 before, and at R11.9198 against sterling from R11.8843 previously.
The euro was bid at US$1.3287 from its previous close of US$1.3318.
Earlier, it was announced that the seasonally adjusted Kagiso Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) posted strong gains in February, rising by 4.7 index points to 57.9 - the highest level since February 2010.
Standard Bank agreed that the increase in PMI had been good for the local currency "as it is indicative of the fact that the manufacturing sector may have turned the corner from bleak growth in 2012 and bodes well for GDP growth prospects this year."
Nevertheless, risks to growth in 2012 remained on the downside, Standard Bank added, on the back of recession prospects in the eurozone.
"In the short to medium term, the rand's direction will likely continue to be dominated by changes in global risk sentiment."
Meanwhile Dow Jones Newswires reported that the euro's value had been damaged on Wednesday after US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke addressed the House of Representatives.
The single currency lost 1% of its value against the greenback after Bernanke's semi-annual monetary policy report late on Wednesday, as investors scrambled to adjust positions that had been primed for a bout of stimulus-induced dollar weakness.
"We are somewhat surprised by the market reaction to Bernanke given that his overall tone regarding the outlook for the US economy remained downbeat, downplaying recent signs of improvement in the labour market," said the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi-UFJ in a research note.
