The rand was weaker against major currencies on Monday morning at the beginning of a data-heavy week. At 8.20am‚ the rand was at R13.2907 against the dollar from a previous close of R12.9682.Against the euro‚ the rand was at R15.1906 from a previous close of R14.7617.Against the pound‚ the rand was at R20.8195 from R20.3531. The rand weakened to as much as R21/4222 against the pound sterling.The euro was at $1.1429 from $1.1381 previously.Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) analysts said weakness in the currency was due to fear about the Chinese economy. The analysts said all risk assets were being "smacked"‚ but the rand’s response was "extraordinary"."From a close of under R13‚ the rand was quoted against the dollar at up to R14 in Asian trade this morning. The 7% rand loss compares with losses of 1% to 2% for most emerging market currencies." A level of R14 to the dollar is an all-time low.The analysts said rand losses were making a September rate hike more likely from the South African Reserve Bank."The Reserve Bank could even move by 50 basis points. An emergency meeting‚ however‚ seems unlikely. Panic responses to try to stabilise the rand are no longer their reaction function. By contrast‚ it’s hard to believe the Federal Reserve will hike in September. This takes away some of the sting from the global market collapse‚" the analysts said.Data due this week on the local front include mining output and gross domestic product (GDP) on Tuesday and producer price index numbers on Thursday.Internationally‚ the US will release its second quarter GDP data on Thursday. The Jackson Hole Symposium will begin on Friday morning. - RDM News Wire, BDlive..