South African rand steady as market weighs Trump's talk of Iran negotiations

JOHANNESBURG, March 25 (Reuters) - The South African rand was steady in early trade on Wednesday as traders cautiously assessed President Donald Trump's assertion that the U.S. was in negotiations to end to the war with Iran.

* At 0712 GMT the rand traded at 16.92 against the dollar,roughly 0.5% up from its previous close, but broadlyrange-bound. * The greenback last traded flat against a basket ofcurrencies. * "The USD-ZAR remains in a holding pattern for now," ETMAnalytics said. Investors across most markets were waiting for afresh catalyst to "galvanise a theme or direction on which totrade," it added. * On Thursday, investor attention will mainly be pinned onthe South African Reserve Bank's interest rate decision, wheneconomists polled by Reuters expect the bank to keep the ratesteady at 6.75%. * On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index wasup 1.1% in early trade. * South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond alsostrengthened in early deals, as the yield fell 6 basis points to8.975%.

(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov;Editing by Andrew Heavens)