South Africa's rand weakened on Monday, tracking the euro and other emerging market currencies, as ongoing jitters about the trade dispute between China and the US and faltering euro zone growth dampened demand.
At 1515 GMT the rand was 0.33% weaker at 15.1850 per dollar compared to an opening level of 15.1400.
Offshore uncertainty, with reports US President Donald Trump's administration was considering delisting Chinese companies from US stock exchanges, overshadowed local developments. Unexpectedly slower German inflation and lower growth forecasts for Europe's biggest economy added to the pressure on riskier currencies like the rand.
The yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2026 rose 4.5 basis points to 8.34%, while stocks closed near a two-week low. The broader All-share index was down 0.7% at 54,824 points, while the Top-40 index fell 0.72% to 48,813 points, reflecting nervousness over the US-China trade standoff.
The index of gold stocks dropped 1.6% as investors flocked to the greenback. Bullion producer Harmony declined 3.28% to 43.30 rand, GoldFields was 2.16% lower at 76.12 rand, while shares in AngloGold fell 1.45% to 284.09 rand. A batch of local data releases and political developments painted a mixed picture, failing to inspire rand buying.
South Africa's trade balance swung to a 6.84 billion rand ($450 million) surplus in August following a July deficit of 3.72 billion rand, while President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday government will finalise a clear economic growth strategy within the next few weeks.