JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand started the week on the back foot against the dollar on Monday while government bonds were still under pressure from the possibility of higher interest rates. The rand was trading at 7.6475 to the dollar at 0646 GMT, about 0.5 percent weaker than its last New York close of 7.61 on Friday. "It's come a bit weaker, some demand for dollars coming out of Asia which is a bit unusual. I think 7.66/67 should be toppish on the day ," said a local dealer. "A 100 basis point hike is now fully priced in for next week and I think anything else will be a massive disappointment to the market," he said. Central bank governor Tito Mboweni last week hinted at a possible 200 basis points increase for the repo rate when the central bank meets next week. Independent market analysts ETM said Mboweni's comments could help the rand stabilise in the near future. The market will also watch the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) out at 0900 GMT for further clues on the interest rate outlook. Government bond yields rose on Monday. The yield on the 2010 bond was up one basis point to 11.58 percent and that on the 2015 note ticked up by the same margin to 10.17 percent. ETM said the level of the curve inversion was likely to stabilise after a dramatic steepening last week. The JSE's blue chip Top-40 June futures contract was up 0.7 percent ahead of market opening at 0700 GMT. | 
