The rand tracked a weaker dollar in the afternoon session on Wednesday, with the greenback under pressure against the euro.

At 3.44pm the rand was bid at 7.3520 to the dollar from 7.3703 at its previous close. It was bid at 11.0253 to the euro from its previous close of 11.0380 and was at 12.2322 against sterling from 12.3194.

The euro was bid at US$1.5015 from US$1.4984 overnight.

A local trader said: "The rand has tracked dollar movement, which has come under sever pressure against the euro in particular. Emerging market currencies are also performing well. It should be extremely quite tonight," amid US bank holiday, Veterans' Day.

Dow Jones Newswires reported that the dollar sagged to a 15-month low against a basket of major currencies overnight Wednesday, and remained near that level in early New York trading, as positive Asian economic data sparked renewed optimism for a global economic recovery.

US stocks are expected to open higher. With no important US economic data on tap and with the US and Canadian Veterans Day holidays keeping trading subdued, higher-yielding currencies are likely to extend their gains if stocks rally.

The dollar fell to its lowest level against the euro in more than two weeks in overnight trading; the euro remained well above US$1.50 after failing Tuesday to muster the strength to rally past the psychologically important level as US stocks wavered.

But the positive Asian economic data bolstered risk appetite, leading to gains in commodities, most Asian stocks and in European bourses so far Wednesday.

Credit Rev: Bonds zone in on dollar, offshore mkt

Bonds were steady on Wednesday as offshore interest and a positive Eskom auction ushered in some buying, while any concerns of rand weakness failed to materialise.

By 3.46pm the short-term government R154 bond was bid at 7.070 percent from a previous close of 6.955 percent. The medium-term R157 was at 8.285 percent from 8.280 percent, while the long-term R186 was at 8.880 percent from 8.885 percent before.