A firmer rand tracked record gold prices and a weaker greenback in the afternoon session on Monday.

At 3.52pm the rand was bid at 7.4179 to the dollar from 7.5052 at its previous close. It was bid at 11.1250 to the euro from its previous close of 11.1693 and was at 12.4355 against sterling from 12.5018.

The euro was bid at US$1.4986 from US$1.4873 overnight.

A local trader said: "The record gold price is the main driver of the rand's current strength. Dollar weakness also abounds. We might see some resistance at the 7.40 level, but if the gold price continues to strengthen, so will the rand."

Gold moved and remained above the key $1100 an ounce level on Monday after ministers at the weekend's G20 meeting pledged to maintain their fiscal stimulus measures. It briefly peaked $1111 an ounce.

Dow Jones Newswires reports that with US payrolls and the G20 summit out of the way and the International Monetary Fund suggesting the dollar has further to fall, the US currency is back under selling pressure in Europe on Monday.

The decline took the euro back up close to US$1.50 as investors once again show a preference for risky assets.

The IMF added to dollar's woes by commenting that although the dollar has "moved closer to medium-run equilibrium", it continues to trade "on the strong side".

Although some analysts reckon that the dollar should remain in fairly narrow trading ranges now, others suggest that the US currency could come under renewed, heavy selling pressure if Fed officials speaking this week suggest that rates will stay low for longer because of the weak payrolls.

"Any signals that the weaker data could prolong the period over which the policy rate remains 'exceptionally low' could heap further pressure on the dollar," said Gareth Berry, a currency strategist with UBS in Singapore.

Rumours of deal add a little spark

Rumours of a fairly large portfolio deal in the fixed income market on Monday led to some buying activity during the afternoon session. However, conditions remained thin, with shorting taking place earlier going into the government auction on Tuesday.

By 4.23pm the short-term government R154 bond was bid at 6.985 percent from a previous close of 6.965 percent. The medium-term R157 was at 8.245 percent from 8.280 percent, while the long-term R186 was at 8.855 percent from 8.890 percent before.