South African rand gains against weaker dollar on Ukraine peace talks

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 13 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand recouped some losses against a weaker dollar early on Thursday, after news of Washington's aim to begin talks on ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

At 0714 GMT, the rand traded at 18.455 against the dollar ZAR=D3, about 0.4% stronger than its previous close.

U.S. President Donald Trump said late on Wednesday that both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed a desire for peace in separate phone calls with him.

The announcement overshadowed higher than expected U.S. consumer prices in January, and pushed the dollar =USD lower.

"While the USD is back on the defensive, the ZAR enjoys some respite and will trade in a rangebound fashion until investors decide what clear direction they have to work with," said ETM Analytics in a research note.

Some support for the rand also came from stronger gold prices, analysts said, as South Africa is a major producer of the precious metal.

On Thursday, domestic investors will turn their attention towards December mining production data and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's address to parliament.

South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond ZAR2030= was stronger, with the yield down 2 basis points at 9.185%.