Johannesburg - South Africa's rand plunged to a new all-time low against the US dollar on Monday, recording its biggest daily loss in 19 months as rising concerns about waning growth in China hit commodity currencies.
The rand briefly dropped to 14.0000 against the dollar, its weakest level on record according to Thomson Reuters data.
The local unit was at 13.3100 by 06h13 GMT, down 2.6 percent compared with its close on Friday.
The rand was the hardest hit among 25 emerging market currencies as investors sold off high-risk assets amid worries about the impact of slowing global growth in the world's second biggest economy.
The rand, which is already down more than 15 percent against the dollar this year, has been particularly vulnerable because of South Africa's wide current account balance and concerns about sluggish domestic growth.
“Fears over China's economy have spooked the markets,” Rand Merchant Trade analyst John Cairns said.
“Nerves were on edge after Wall Street dropped 3 percent on Friday, but an 8 percent drop in Chinese markets has seen panic spiral.”
REUTERS