JOHANNESBURG Oct 20 (Reuters) - The South African rand was weaker in early trade on Friday against the U.S. dollar as global focus remains on conflict in the Middle East.

       At 0742 GMT, the rand traded at 19.0875 against the dollar , about 0.3% weaker than its previous close.

       The dollar last traded around 0.1% stronger against a basket of global currencies.

       "Global markets are volatile, which creates risks of spillover, but overall, the rand seems unlikely to go very far in either direction," said Rand Merchant Bank analysts in a morning briefing.

       Friday is expected to be quiet, with the main mover being the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, said Andre Cilliers, currency strategist at TreasuryONE.

       Shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange opened lower, with the blue-chip Top-40 index (.JTOPI) down about 1.2%.

       South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was stronger in early deals, with the yield down 2.5 basis points to 10.860%.

       Reporting by Tannur Anders, editing by Deborah Kyvrikosaios

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