JOHANNESBURG, April 15 (Reuters) - The South African rand was steady in early trade on Wednesday as markets weighed Roelf Meyer's appointment as ambassador to the United States and the prospect of a second round of U.S.-Iran peace talks in Pakistan later this week.
* At 0628 GMT the rand traded at 16.3325 against the dollar,unchanged from its previous close. * South Africa has not had an ambassador in Washington sinceits last one, Ebrahim Rasool, was expelled in March 2025 afterangering the Trump administration. * Relations between Washington and Pretoria have been tenseduring U.S. President Donald Trump's second term as he has madefalse claims about the persecution of South Africa's whiteAfrikaner minority. * Meyer is a veteran negotiator who was the chiefrepresentative of the white minority government in thenegotiations to end apartheid in the 1990s. * South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond was firmerin early deals, as the yield fell 7 basis points to 8.345%. * The U.S. dollar was also flat against a basket ofcurrencies as optimism around renewed U.S.-Iran peace talksreduced demand for safe-haven assets. * "With a possible second round of peace talks happeningagain in Pakistan later this week, operators are quietlypositive," Adam Phillips, treasury specialist at UmkhuluTreasury, said. * "It has pushed the USD to a six-week low and I am surethat Trump is hoping for something soon to end this," addedPhillips.(Reporting by Anathi Madubela; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
