The South African bond market was firmer on Tuesday before midday as markets focused on the outcomes of the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting. The two-day meeting is expected to end with interest rates unchanged at 7%, despite surprising 6.8% consumer inflation for December. Rand Merchant Bank’s John Cairns said the MPC announcement should be a nonevent, with the market not having priced in an interest-rate increase, but an "understandably hawkish rhetoric" from the governor Lesetja Kganyago. Cairns said the publication of inflation expectations should be watched closely as they have been stable in recent times. "Any material uptick should see a renewed bout of weakness in SA yields," he said. Dow Jones Newswires reported that investors had cut back on their appetite for US government bonds at the start of the first full week of Donald Trump’s presidency. TreasuryOne currency dealer Wichard Cilliers said Trump’s focus on protectionism of the US economy was causi...
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