By Reuters Staff (Updates prices) JOHANNESBURG, July 7 (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand steadied against the dollar in afternoon trade on Wednesday, with market attention pinned on the release of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve later in the day. At 1500 GMT, the rand traded at 14.3750 against the dollar, close to its previous close of 14.3775. Investors will scrutinise the Fed minutes, due at 1800 GMT, for further clues about when U.S. interest rates might rise. Any sign they will rise soon tends to hurt emerging market currencies like the rand. South Africa’s net foreign reserves dipped to $51.368 billion in June, central bank data showed on Wednesday, but that did little to sway the local currency.