South African rand little changed against dollar

Oct 5 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand was little changed on Wednesday, as the dollar steadied after a sharp rate hike in New Zealand dashed hopes for a pause or slowdown in the U.S. Federal Reserve's aggressive policy tightening.

At 0636 GMT, the rand traded at 17.6200 against the dollar, not far from its previous close of 17.6300.

The dollar index, which measures the currency against six major rivals, steadied at 110.23, after suffering its heaviest setback in over two years on Tuesday.

Local investors will be looking at the S&P Global South Africa PMI survey for September due later in the day for clues on the health of the economy.

The government's benchmark 2030 bond was up in early deals, with the yield down 4.5 basis points to 10.595%. (Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)