JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand steadied against the dollar on Tuesday and was seen trading in familiar ranges, while stock futures were indicating a slightly lower open on the bourse. The JSE's blue-chip Top-40 September futures contract was down 0.12 percent, after the bourse closed on Monday at its highest levels since September last year. The rand stood at 7.7580 against the dollar at 0636 GMT, little changed from Monday's New York close of 7.76. Dealers said it would likely trade between 7.72 and 7.82 to the dollar. "If you look at what the dollar and U.S. stocks did yesterday, the rand was set up for some strength," said Jim Bryson, chief dealer at Rand Merchant Bank. "But there's lack of interest in the rand ... Once major currencies move like this the rand is not in focus," he said adding importer demand also limited the rand's gains. The dollar was trading near its lowest levels this year against a basket of currencies while U.S. stocks rose further. South African government bonds weakened slightly, with the yield on the 2015 bond up 0.5 basis points to 8.395 percent and that on the 2036 issue up by the same margin to 8.445 percent. The market will watch the release of July's new vehicle sales figures at 0900 GMT. Car sales have been falling for more than two years and are seen remaining weak for the rest of 2009. | 
