S.Africa rand steady vs dlr, eyes medium term budget

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand was little changed from last week's closing levels against the dollar on Monday and should trade in ranges, tracking overseas market trends in the absence of market-moving local news.

The market expects few surprises from Tuesday's medium term budget policy statement by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.

At 0642 GMT the rand traded just 0.10 percent firmer at 7.4625 against the greenback after closing on Friday at 7.47/dollar.

"It looks like another range trading day. The rand is not really on the radar at the moment. I'm thinking 7.42/50, maybe 7.44/52 will be the range," said RMB trader Jim Bryson.

"The clocks have moved back in the UK so London will be coming in an hour later and that means the market may just be a little bit thinner early on."

Investors will watch Tuesday's budget for any hints of shifts away from present market-friendly policies by President Jacob Zuma's government to appease its key labour union and communist allies.

The rand was rattled last week by a report, quickly denied by the government, suggesting the economic planning ministry was mulling freezing the currency at a predetermined rate.

On Monday, government bonds were slightly weaker, nudging the yield on the 2015 bond 2 basis points up to 8.635 percent while that for the 2036 note rose 2.5 basis points to 8.835 percent.

South Africa's blue chip Top-40 December futures contract was down just 0.16 percent, pointing to a flat start for the JSE Securities Exchange at 0700 GMT.