The euro was bid at US$1.3165 from its previous close of US$1.3168.
Johannesburg, Mar 13 (I-Net Bridge) - The rand was firmer against the dollar in early morning trade on Tuesday as it tracked a euro that had managed to hold its own against the greenback.
"The rand isn't looking too bad this morning - it's still range bound though," a local currency dealer said.
"Dollar rand will probably trade in a 7.52 to 7.62 range for most of the day as the market is waiting to see what comes out of the US Fed later on."
At 08:34 local time, the rand was bid at R7.5279 to the dollar from its previous close of R7.5418. It was bid at R9.9043 to the euro from R9.9342 before, and at R11.7729 against sterling from R11.8056 previously.
The euro was bid at US$1.3165 from its previous close of US$1.3168.
Barclays Capital said in a note that although the rand had weakened on Monday morning, it had recouped lost ground in the afternoon session and actually finished stronger on the day.
"The rand continues to exhibit a firmer bias this morning, which is in keeping with the risk-on theme that has crept back into the market ahead of tonight's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
"The USD is once again losing some of its safe-haven appeal, commodity prices are firmer and equity markets are rallying because the market expects the tone of tonight's FOMC policy statement to be more upbeat, especially after Friday's encouraging US employment report."
Barclays Capital said more clarity surrounding the extent of the US economic recovery would also be gleaned from this afternoon's US retails sales data, so rand bulls would be looking for a good retail number and more sanguine remarks from the Fed Chairman tonight.
Meanwhile Dow Jones Newswires reported that the dollar fell against the yen on Tuesday in Asia after the Bank of Japan left its key monetary policy unchanged to gauge the effects of its surprise easing steps a month ago.
Tokyo dealers said the market's focus was now the outcome of the FOMC meeting later in the global day.
"The likelihood of a third round of quantitative easing (in the US) is seen to have lessened," said Kenichiro Ikezawa, fund manager at Daiwa SB Investments.
"Still, it's also probably unlikely that the Fed will move (away from its easing stance) too early ahead of the US Presidential election. Market participants want to make sure of that."
"The focus is the FOMC) statement--how much recovery it recognizes or whether it shows any concerns over inflation," Chuo Mitsui Trust's Nishida said.
Fed officials have signalled that they were unlikely to launch new programmes at the meeting.
