The rand continued to trade in a range on Thursday morning, but with focus on the local currency's performance against the euro.

At 08:58 the rand was bid at 7.4280 to the dollar from 7.3847 at its previous close. It was bid at 10.1172 to the euro from its previous close of 10.0913 and was at 11.0919 against the sterling from 11.0601.

The euro was bid at US$1.3631 from US$1.3642 previously.

A local trader said: "The focus this morning is on euro/rand's performance. We broke 10.08 against the euro, and we will test 10.26.

"Overall, we are still looking pretty rangy, at 7.38/40 to 7.48 on the topside."

RMB analysts in their morning report noted the EUR is trading steadily against the US dollar, buoyed by the prospect of EU intervention should Greek borrowing costs continue to rise.

"US dollar/rand however is floundering at 7.42, following several days of consistent gains, partly due to aggressive purchasing below the US dollar/rand 7.40 level. Though US trade data poses mild event risk, it should not provoke extreme volatility. We therefore expect US dollar/rand to continue to trade in a 10c ? 15c range," analysts John Cairns and Nema Ramkhelawan said.

Dow Jones Newswires reported the euro and dollar fell against the yen in Asia Thursday as China's stronger-than-expected price data stoked concerns about more monetary tightening in that country, prompting investors to dump the two currencies for the safe-haven yen.

The euro and the dollar may decline further later in the day if US weekly jobless claims disappoint, adding to views that the Federal Reserve won't hike interest rates for the time being, dealers said.

Earlier in Asian trading, China's data showed the consumer price index rose 2.7 percent from a year earlier in February, higher than the median forecast of a 2.4 percent rise in a Dow Jones Newswires poll of 11 economists.

The results reminded investors that inflation remains problematic, increasing expectations for further monetary tightening in the country.

The euro slid a third of a yen to Y123.32 from its New York level Wednesday. The US unit fell a fifth of a yen to Y90.39.

Dealers said the dollar could fall to Y89.50 and the euro to Y122.70 if US weekly jobless claims data, due at 1330 GMT, show more people claiming benefits, thereby pushing down share markets.

US jobless claims are likely to have increased by 460 000 last week, compared with a 469 000 rise two weeks before, according to economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

Still, some traders said a sharp fall in the dollar/yen could be limited in the short term amid speculation that the Bank of Japan may loosen monetary policy as early as next week when it holds its two-day policy board meeting.

Meanwhile, the euro was at $1.3642, down from $1.3653. The ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of currencies, stood at 80.453 from 80.451 in New York Wednesday.

Bonds barely changed; eye data

South African bonds were virtually unchanged from their overnight levels in early trade on Thursday ahead of mining and manufacturing data later in the day.

By 08:30 the short-term government R154 bond was bid at 7.230 percent and offered at 7.030 percent after closing at 7.125 percent on Wednesday and the medium-term R157 was at 8.240 percent from 8.235 percent at its previous close. The long-term R186 was bid at 9.085 percent and offered at 9.035 percent from 9.060 percent previously.