JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand slipped to a two-week low against the U.S dollar on Friday, tracking a weaker euro which stumbled after the European Central Bank said it will soon embark on outright money-printing.
Mario Draghi, the head of the ECB, fuelled expectation that the bank would take bolder steps on monetary stimulus later this month, sending the euro to its lowest level in 4 1/2 years against the dollar.
The rand is also under pressure on other fronts, with Africa's most advanced economy growing slowly in the face of labour strife, power supply jitters and depressed commodity prices.
At 1450 GMT, South Africa's currency traded at 11.7090/dollar, about 1.29 percent weaker than its close in New York on Wednesday. Domestic markets were closed on Thursday for New Year's Day. The yield on the benchmark 2026 issue added 3 basis points to 7.990 percent.
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