South African rand little changed in early deals

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand was little changed early on Monday, holding onto gains from last week as analysts said risk sentiment remained positive.

At 0742 GMT, the rand traded at 18.3000 against the U.S. dollar, close to its previous close of 18.3125 on Friday.

The dollar index was down about 0.23% against a basket of global currencies.

Global markets are expected to take direction this week from the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision on Tuesday and the U.S. PCE price index inflation number on Friday.

"Risk sentiment remains positive, and we see EM (emerging market) currencies holding on to most of last week's gains," said currency strategist Andre Cilliers at TreasuryONE.

The rand is likely to consolidate in an 18.10 to 18.50 range in the short term as activity slows for the holiday season, Cilliers said.

South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was stronger in early deals, with the yield down 6 basis points at 9.710%.

(Reporting by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Christopher Cushing)