JOHANNESBURG, Aug 14 Reuters The South African rand weakened on Monday, hampered at the start of the week by worries over the health of China39;s economy and the potential for another U.S. interest rate hike.

At 1516 GMT, the rand was at 19.0475 to the dollar , about 0.44 weaker than its closing level on Friday.

Analysts said the risks were for the rand to fall further, owing to weak economic data out of China, higherthanexpected core producer inflation in the U.S. and increased bets on another Federal Reserve rate hike in September.

Concerns over the global economic outlook… negatively affect the rand, as does higher levels of risk aversion in global financial markets, said Investec analyst Annabel Bishop.

Bishop said the weakness in the rand can also be attributed to market players taking fewer risks in northern hemisphere summer vacation months, when trading volumes tend to be thinner.

This causes increased volatility, as market reactions to events tend to be more pronounced, she added.

ETM Analytics played down the marketmoving potential of this week39;s South African data releases, which include secondquarter unemployment data on Tuesday and June retail sales on Wednesday.

South Africa39;s economy remains under considerable pressure… As U.S. bond yields rise, the rand will remain vulnerable, it said in a research note, adding that this week39;s U.S. releases, including Federal Reserve minutes, were likely to be more marketmoving.

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