JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand softened slightly against the dollar on Monday, tracking other emerging market currencies in thin holiday trade after the Russian rouble continued its downward march on fears of a deep economic contraction in 2015.
At 1600 GMT, the rand was 0.14 percent weaker at 11.6165 versus the dollar after firming slightly earlier.
Data on Monday showed Russia's economy shrank 0.5 percent in November, and with oil prices showing no sign of recovery, a deeper contraction is likely in 2015.
Domestic South African November trade data will be released on Tuesday, with economists polled by Reuters predicting that the deficit will narrow to 7 billion from a record 21.3 billion rand in October.
South Africa is running steep budget and current account deficits, making the currency vulnerable.
Falling exports and productivity disrupted by labour stoppages and erratic power supply have dragged the rand almost 25 percent lower against the dollar in 2014.
Yields on government bonds edged lower, with the benchmark issue due in 2026 shedding 3 basis points to 8.035 percent.
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