South Africa's rand steady, government bonds flat

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand traded within a few cents of the previous day's five-week highs on Tuesday and should tread in a narrow range in the absence of market-moving data. By 0650 GMT, the local currency was at 9.8310 to the dollar, slipping just 0.3 percent from Monday's close in New York. Government bonds were unchanged from the previous day's last levels, at 8.07 percent for the 2026 benchmark and 5.99 percent for the 2015 note, which also trades heavily on the secondary market. The rand gained nearly 1.2 percent against the dollar on Monday as investors speculated the U.S. Federal Reserve could keep monetary policy loose for longer than anticipated after a candidate seen as hawkish pulled out of the running to head the leading central bank. Emerging markets have seen billions of dollars flow their way due to the Fed's monthly bond purchasing programme, which the central bank is expected to start scaling down as the world's largest economy shows signs of a firm recovery.