Rand halts three days of losses from speculation about Greece remaining in euro zone

The monetary unit of the nation hosting the largest economy on the African continent increased in value Tuesday for the first time in four trading sessions, according to Bloomberg.

Riskier assets like the South African rand benefited from conjecture indicating the 17-nation euro bloc will remain as is and not abandon two-time international bailout aid recipient Greece. The Aegean nation is set to conduct elections again this Sunday after early May elections were inconclusive.

"Risky assets are in for a bumpy ride in the run-up to this weekend's Greek elections," states an email penned by currency strategist Nomvuyo Guma with Standard Bank Group in Johannesburg, according to Bloomberg. "However, given our expectation that Greece will opt to remain in the euro zone, the rand could regain some ground."

The previous 72 hours of trading have seen the rand lose 1.9 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar amid concerns for Italy's fiscal issues, which are projected to follow those of Spain.

The South African reports the South African rand was pinched by China's interest rate slash last week, which presaged the publicization of underwhelming economic data.