JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand retreated against the dollar early on Monday, weakening alongside other emerging market currencies on fears of a slowdown in global economic growth.
At 0630 GMT the rand was 0.1 percent weaker at 14.5050 per dollar compared to a close of 14.9000 on Friday in New York.
The rand rallied to a 2-week best in the latter part of the previous week after the United States central bank kept lending rates flat. But on Friday it slipped back towards the 14.50 mark after the US bond curve inverted and German and Japanese manufacturing activity sunk, reviving global recession fears.
South Africa's central bank is expected to keep lending rates steady when it concludes its second monetary policy meeting for the year on Thursday but may strike a hawkish tone as fuel prices start to climb.
Bonds also weakened, with the yield on the benchmark paper due in 2026, adding 1.5 basis points to 8.765 percent.
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