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People chat in front of an electronic board displaying movements in major indices at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange building in Sandton Johannesburg, file. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
July 18 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand steadied against the dollar on Monday, after the U.S. currency fell to a more than 1-week low as traders pared bets on how aggressively the Federal Reserve would hike interest rates next week.
At 1609 GMT, the rand traded at 17.0700 against the dollar, not far from its previous close of 17.0625.
The rand's value against the dollar would continue to consolidate around the 17.0000 level until a new catalyst arises, economists at ETM Analytics said in a note.
The U.S. dollar index , which measures the greenback against six major peers, was last down 0.58% at 107.21, after dropping to a more than 1-week low earlier in the session.
Federal Reserve officials signalled Friday they would likely stick with a 75-basis-point interest rate increase at their July 26-27 meeting, in spite of a high U.S. inflation reading in June.
Stocks on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) were up, helped largely by energy companies riding on the jump in oil prices on concerns over gas supply from Russia.
Overall on the JSE, the All-Share index (.JALSH) rose 2.96% to 67,016 points, while the Top-40 index (.JTOPI) closed 3.15% higher at 60,761 points.
The government's benchmark 2030 bond was lower, with the yield up 7.5 basis points at 11.085%.
