The rand was modestly weaker in early trade on Friday after the European Central Bank (ECB) failed to articulate stimulus measures‚ which upset the global sentiment.

The focus is now on US nonfarm payrolls data due later in the day.

At 08:54‚ the rand was bid at R8.1728 to the dollar from its previous close of R8.1347.It was bid at R10.1117 to the euro from its previous close of R10.0690 and at R12.6825 against sterling from R12.6167 before.

Gold was trading US$1601.47 per ounce.

The euro was bid at US$1.2379 from its previous close of $1.383.

RMB said in its morning report that the ECB’s policy decision had hurt the euro and Portugal‚ Italy‚ Ireland‚ Greece and Spain.

“The bigger story‚ though‚ is that the decision has created risks that the eurozone crisis could flare up again — and so ultimately prove significantly rand-negative. Attention for now has switched to the US‚ with caution before the US nonfarm payrolls data release and volatility thereafter‚” RMB noted.

The bank yesterday cut rates by 25 basis points to a record low of 0.75 percent‚ “but refused to do anything else to address the eurozone confidence crisis”‚ analysts said.

“It’s been a quiet start‚” Leon Myburgh‚ sub-Saharan Africa strategist at Citi‚ said‚ noting that concern about the outlook for Europe looked likely to continue. “The US nonfarm payrolls data will now be the next big thing for markets‚” he said.

The euro was steady in Asia after hitting a five-week low against the US dollar in US trade‚ Dow Jones Newswires reported.

"The euro took a hammering and it's not over yet‚" said strategist Peter Kinsella at Commerzbank in London.

Strategists said the rate cut meant the euro would increasingly be viewed as one of the most attractive currencies to sell to fund positive bets on currencies with higher yields.