JOHANNESBURG, Oct 13 (Reuters) - The South African rand

was steady in early trade on Monday as investors remained

cautious about renewed U.S.-China trade tensions and

expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts with the U.S

shutdown entering its thirteenth day.

At 0826 GMT the rand traded at 17.3175 against the dollar

, about 1% firmer than Friday's close.

Like other risk-sensitive currencies, the rand often takes

cues from global drivers such as U.S. policy and economic data.

"Risk appetite appears to be back at this week's start, so

one should expect the ZAR to make a modest recovery," said ETM

Analytics in a research note.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback's

strength against a basket of currencies, traded up 0.1%.

Domestically-focused investors will look to a business

confidence index, mining production data and retail

sales figures this week for clues to the health of

Africa's largest economy.

"A harsh reminder of the opportunity cost SA has suffered

will likely come in the form of the latest mining production

data later this week, highlighting SA's inability to take

advantage of the commodity price boom," said ETM Analytics.

On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index

was up 0.2% in early trade.

South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond

edged up in early deals, as the yield fell 2 basis points to

9.105%.