The South African bond market was slightly weaker in afternoon trade on Thursday, following the release of disappointing local mining and manufacturing data for October. Some of the losses may, however, be clawed back during the rest of the afternoon following the European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) announcement of a nine-month extension to its current stimulus package. Bonds usually track the rand’s performance, and with the currency showing volatility during the day, further exaggerated moves may characterise afternoon trade. The rand reached a best level of R13.4602 to the dollar, with its worst read at R13.6876 Rand Merchant Bank’s John Cairns said the extension of the ECB’s bond-buying programme would be viewed as a positive. At 3.29pm the benchmark R186 was bid at 8.865% from Wednesday’s 8.840%, with the R207 bid at 8.070% from 8.055% previously.
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