The rand was marginally weaker against the dollar on Friday afternoon but remained resilient, as the recent rally by the greenback began to lose some steam. The local currency strengthened to R12.86/$ in intraday trade. At 3.30pm the rand was at R12.9119 to the dollar from Wednesday’s R12.8684. It was at R13.7045 to the euro from R13.6174 and at R16.2068 to the pound from R16.1600. The dollar was at $1.0613 to the euro from $1.0581. Rand Merchant Bank analyst John Cairns said there had been a widespread emerging-market rally with the rand taking charge. Justifications were shallow but the probability of the US Federal Reserve increasing interest rates easing, the reduced risks from French politics, China’s currency manipulation and a fading dollar rally were among the reasons. TreasuryOne dealer Phillip Pearce said while the rand had a lot of "hard yards" this week, many attempts or a big news item were needed to push the local currency through the R12.80/$ level.
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