The rand was steady in late afternoon trade on Thursday after the European Central Bank (ECB) kept rates unchanged as expected. The ECB will continue to buy Eur80bn of assets per month until March and Eur60bn between April and December. At 3.37pm the rand was at R13.6311 from R13.6327. It was at R14.4915 against the euro from R14.4926 and at R16.7675 against the British pound from R16.7129. The euro was at $1.0632 from $1.0629. The dollar was weaker in choppy trade for most of the day as it sought direction ahead of president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday. US Federal Reserve chairperson Janet Yellen’s assurance on Wednesday that the Fed would increase rates further this year initially caused the dollar to regain some lost ground, before weakening again. However, trading is expected to remain largely directionless until Trump provides greater clarity on policy issues. Analysts say the rand has been unable to firm further on dollar weakness with R13.40/$ a significant ba...
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