The rand continued to slide against major currencies at noon on Wednesday on risk aversion with the troubled Spanish banking sector at the upper most of market players minds.
At 10:02 the rand was bid at R8.4394 to the dollar from Tuesdays close of 8.3086. It was bid at R10.4912 to the euro from Tuesdays close of R10.3710 and at R13.1184 against sterling from R12.9874 at Tuesdays close.
The euro was bid at US$1.2439 from Tuesdays close of $1.2477.
With Spain being five times the size of Greece the authorities are having to deal with the much bigger liquidity crises in Spain and that has sparked risk aversion said Mark Kalkwarf senior portfolio manager at Iquad Group.
Spanish bond yields were sharply higher after Egan-Jones Ratings downgraded its ratings late on Tuesday on the country's debt to junk status while concerns persisted about Spain's fragile banking sector according to Dow Jones Newswires. Bankia shares continued to fall after media reports said the European Central Bank shot down a potential plan to recapitalise Bankia.
Longs softer on auction announcement
The longer end of the South African bond curve moved softer in midday trade on Wednesday after the National Treasury said it will auction R500 million worth of R203 bonds R800 million worth of R209 bonds and R800 million worth of R214 bonds on June 5.
At 11:49 the benchmark R157 bond was trading at 6.380 percent from Tuesdays close of 6.380 percent and Mondays close of 6.355 percent. The R207 was trading at 7.630 percent from a previous close of 7.605 percent and the R186 was trading at 8.365 percent from its close of 8.330 percent.
A wine company bearing the name of the former president Nelson Mandela has been established in the US.
It's the safest investment in South Africa and it promises to ALWAYS beat inflation by one percent.
Zwelinzima Vavi is not worried about the possibility of losing his job, amid allegations of corruption.
