The rand was relatively unchanged from its overnight levels on Wednesday morning, sitting in a range amid the US Veteran's Day bank holiday.

At 9.00am the rand was bid at 7.4010 to the dollar from 7.3703 at its previous close. It was bid at 11.0735 to the euro from its previous close of 11.0380 and was at 12.3685 against sterling from 12.3194.

The euro was bid at $1.4976 from $1.4984 overnight.

A local trader said: "We didn't see too much action overnight.

The euro again tested 1.50 against the dollar, but failed. Today sees a US bank holiday, so expected a range of 7.35-45 against the dollar."

RMB analysts John Cairns and Nema Ramkhelawan in their morning report said that the SA government had listened to views on the currency, however Economic Planning Minister Patel was quite clear yesterday in saying that there were no plans to try to weaken the unit. "Ironically, however, further rand gains might be limited somewhat by the actions of authorities internationally.

"US Treasury Secretary Geithner meanwhile affirmed the US 'strong dollar' policy is a signal that maybe US dollar weakness has gone too far," the analysts said.

"US dollar/rand dipped below 7.40 overnight but it's questionable whether this move will sustain. Commodity prices are still on the up, Minister Patel's statement is rand positive, and local manufacturing data came in better than expected," Cairns and Ramkhelawan said.

"Still, other currencies aren't supportive. Most importantly, euro/US dollar is still battling at the 1.50 level ? eurozone data yesterday failed to excite while Fed officials merely affirmed that the US recovery will be weak and erratic, thus not providing any firm direction on US rates.

"There is little on the data and event calendar to upset today. US dollar/rand trade then will probably be around or even above 7.40," they concluded.

Dow Jones Newswires reported that the dollar fell to a one-week-low against the yen in Asia on Wednesday as weak US economic fundamentals prompted investors to keep selling the greenback, despite renewed comments by US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that a strong dollar is in his country's interest.

Geithner, visiting Tokyo, said he deeply believes a strong dollar is "very important" for the US at a roundtable discussion with Japanese reporters.

Dealers say the greenback would likely fall further due to the widely shared view that the Federal Reserve won't hike rates for months to avoid undermining the country's fragile recovery.

Currency dealers will pay attention to US economic reports, such as weekly jobless data due on Thursday, to gauge economic conditions.

The jobs data may show jobless claims have decreased by 2,000 during the week ended November 7. If the outcome misses the forecast, the dollar is likely to drop, dealers said.

Bonds slightly softer

Bonds drifted a little weaker in early trade on Wednesday as some bonds were sold in the wake of a reportedly large corporate flow through the market.

By 9.09am, the short-term government R154 bond was bid at 7.035 percent from a previous close of 6.955 percent. The medium-term R157 was at 8.310 percent from 8.280 percent, while the long-term R186 was at 8.920 percent from 8.885 percent before.