The rand headed for a three-month low as the euro weakened against the dollar and commodity prices slid ahead of a Spanish bond auction tomorrow and after the Bank of Korea cut its growth estimate. South Africa’s currency retreated 0.9 percent to 8.0165 per dollar as of 8:45 a.m. in Johannesburg, the lowest on a closing basis since Jan. 17, and making it the worst performer of 16 major currencies monitored by Bloomberg. The yield on the nation’s 13.5 percent bonds due 2015 gained one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 6.736 percent. Spain is scheduled to sell debt tomorrow and on April 19 as the nation’s borrowing costs approach levels that prompted Greece, Ireland and Portugal to seek bailouts. South Korea’s central bank today cut its growth estimate for Asia’s fourth- largest economy, citing higher oil prices and a slower global recovery. “The rand has started the week on a much shakier footing, with the euro and other commodity currencies also taking strain from the souring mood,� Nomvuyo Guma, a currency strategist at Standard Bank Group Ltd. in Johannesburg, said in e-mailed comments. “Euro fears are stalking markets once again, sapping risk appetite.� The euro weakened as much as 0.5 percent to 1.3009 per dollar, the lowest since March 15. The rand often moves in tandem with the currency of South Africa’s largest trading partner, with a statistical correlation of 0.6 over the past year. A value of 1 would mean they moved in lock step. Three-month copper dropped as much as 1.3 percent on the London Metal Exchange. The contract lost 4.4 percent last week. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI index of raw materials declined as much as 0.8 percent. Metals and other commodities account for 65 percent of South Africa’s exports, according to government data for 2011. The Australian dollar also weakened. To contact the reporter on this story: Stephen Gunnion in Johannesburg at sgunnion@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net gserkin@bloomberg.net

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