JOHANNESBURG, June 20 (Reuters) - The South African rand

was up on Friday, as most emerging markets benefited from easing

worries of an immediate U.S. involvement in the Iran-Israel

conflict.

At 1436 GMT, the rand traded at 18.00 against the U.S.

dollar, up 0.2% from Thursday's close.

The dollar edged up 0.1% against a basket of

currencies, while crude oil prices dropped over 2% after

President Donald Trump pushed back a decision on U.S. military

involvement in the hostilities.

Domestically, investors will look to producer inflation

and leading indicator data due next

week to gauge the health of Africa's most industrialised

economy.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Top-40 index was

little changed despite drops between 1% and 3% at most gold and

platinum miners, and of more than 6% at petrochemical firm Sasol

.

South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond was

stronger. The yield fell 8 basis points to 10.06%.