South Africa's rand firmer on bets U.S. rates won't rise soon

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand ticked higher against the dollar on Thursday, after overnight comments from the Federal Reserve left some investors speculating that U.S. rates might not rise this year. * At 0700 GMT the rand up 0.34 percent to 14.2090 compared with Wednesday's New York close. * Federal Reserve stops short of signalling a near-term rate rise. [nS0N18U00T] * Rand caught in 14.2-14.5 range, could next target 14.1700/dollar. * Local bourse opens mostly flat; blue chip stock index down 0.22 percent, all-share dips 0.05 percent. * Government bonds gain, yield on 2026 benchmark down 4 basis points to 8.71 percent. (Reporting by Stella Mapenzauswa; Editing by Joe Brock)