Local currency trader says drop was mainly due to China trimming its GDP growth figure
The rand was softer against the dollar in late afternoon trade on Tuesday on concerns about the eurozone and Chinese growth prospects as well as further developments on the Greek debt-swap deal.
"The euro and all commodity currencies are under pressure with commodity prices dropping - gold is off quite a bit," a local currency trader said.
"This is all because of global growth concerns that started yesterday with China trimming its GDP growth figure," he added.
"However, the rand isn't the worst hit commodity currency - that title goes to the Australian dollar."
At 15:42 local time, the rand was bid at R7.6057/$ from its previous close of R7.5461/$. It was bid at R9.9936/€ from R9.9717/€ before, and at R12.0020/£ from R11.9821/£ previously.
The euro was bid at $1.3148 from its previous close of $1.3222.
Meanwhile Dow Jones Newswires reported that the dollar rose against the euro and the commodity-linked currencies of Australia, New Zealand and Canada in European trade on Tuesday, as market participants grew nervous about the level of participation in Greece's upcoming bond exchange.
Lingering worries over the Chinese economy added to the negative mood after the Chinese government cut its 2012 growth forecast to 7.5%, as did the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to leave the door open to more interest rate cuts.
The single currency fell to a two week-low against the greenback, taking other currencies perceived as risky along with it, including the pound. European shares were also lower.
"Markets are clearly more vulnerable to negative news this week and we are seeing that across most risk assets," said Jane Foley, a currency strategist at Rabobank in London.
