South African rand flat in early trade

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand was unchanged early on Monday, as the dollar held steady and investor risk appetite held up despite data showing China's economic growth had slowed.

At 0618 GMT, the rand traded at 13.8250 versus the dollar, unchanged from its previous close.

Government bonds were also flat, with the yield on the benchmark 2026 instrument at 8.905 percent.

With no major local data releases scheduled on Monday, traders said the rand's trajectory would be driven by news headlines.

"Today is a dead day as far as data is concerned, and so it will be to the headline screens we turn for some sort of catalyst," Standard Bank said in a note to clients.

The rand has enjoyed a strong start to 2019, rallying more than 3.5 percent against the dollar. But it remains vulnerable to global risk events like Brexit as well as uncertainty surrounding this year's local parliamentary election.

Global financial markets appeared to take in their stride data showing that China's economic growth had cooled slightly in the fourth quarter.

China is one of South Africa's top trading partners.

(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)