At 0740 GMT the rand was 0.1% weaker at 15.3050 per dollar versus a close of 15.2900 on Friday in New York, treading water as risk aversion linked to fears of slowing global growth and a crisis in Argentina lured investors to safe-haven assets.

The rand has fallen more than 6% since the beginning of  August, pressured by the rising likelihood of a credit ratings downgrade by Moody's linked to a massive, additional bailout for state power firm Eskom and signs of slower global growth.

The inversion of the U.S. Treasury bond yield curve - widely viewed as a sign of looming global recession - for the first time since 2007, also put pressure on the rand last week, but by Thursday some short-covering had seen it pullback from 11-month lows.

Traders said the rand is likely to remain in a narrow range ahead of Wednesday's release of local consumer price inflation for July, with the rand's attraction as a carry yield target the key focus.

Bonds were a touch weaker, with the yield on the benchmark paper due in 2026 adding 0.5 basis points to 8.39%.