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JOHANNESBURG – The rand was steady against the dollar but slightly weaker against other major currencies yesterday morning.
With little data due — both domestically and internationally — the rand is expected to trade in a narrow range in the last week of the year.At 8.40AM‚ the rand was at 11,5895 to the dollar from a close of 11,5808.

The local unit traded at 14,1214 against the euro from 14,0949 and was at 18,0361 against the pound from 18,0103 previously.

The euro was trading at $1,2189 against the dollar from a close of $1,2167.

IG market analyst Stan Shamu said euro-dollar would be the main cross to watch this week as Greece prepares to elect a president.

Dow Jones Newswires reported that the country faced a third and final vote yesterday to elect a president and the stability of the coalition government could rest on one of the country’s most unstable political parties — the right-wing Independent Greeks.

Ahead of the roll-call vote in parliament, the coalition government was 12 votes short of the 180 it needed.

Shamu said traders remained concerned about the euro because of the challenges the region faced.

“Euro-dollar is currently testing $1,2160 and is on the verge of breaking this which also happens to be last week’s low.  A break would leave the pair vulnerable to a move down to $1,2000. On the other hand, a surprise positive outcome from the (Greek) vote could result in a sharp recovery for euro-dollar and potentially trigger a broad risk recovery,” he said. – Bdlive