JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand weakened early on Thursday to back near a one-month low after a hawkish-sounding U.S. central bank put expectations for an interest rate hike in December back on the table. At 0630 GMT the rand traded 0.24 percent weaker at 13.3575 per dollar, a little shy of the month-low of 13.3850 it touched late in the previous session after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged but signalled one more increase by the end of the year. The rand made substantial gains on Wednesday after August consumer inflation rose only slightly, fuelling market bets the South African Reserve Bank will cut rates when it announces its policy decision on Thursday. "Price action post the FOMC would suggest a degree of surprise regarding the interest rate outlook this year, although the extent of the move in USDZAR is thus far muted relative to some of the major currency pairs," said Nedbank analyst Reezwana Sumad. In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2026 was up 3.5 basis points to 8.44 percent. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)