JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand pulled back slightly from overnight lows against the dollar but could resume a downward slide on Tuesday as investors remained cautious of taking risks in the aftermath of weak Chinese economic data.
The rand was at 9.1465 to the greenback by 0636 GMT, a 0.96 percent gain from Monday's close at 9.2350.
The local currency slumped to a 1-1/2 week low of 9.2550 against the dollar on Monday, in line with a sharp fall in other commodity-linked currencies hit by disappointing GDP data from China, which is world's biggest commodity consumer.
Gold prices hitting two-year lows also dampened market sentiment.
"The rand seems oversold at current levels and the downward slide should lose some momentum," RMB said in a note.
"However, the fact that Asian markets continued to weaken overnight suggests the downside risk to the local unit remains high today."
Longer dated government bonds edged lower in early Tuesday trade, with the benchmark issue due in 2026 inversely ticking up 1.5 basis points to 7.075 percent.
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