The bond market was weaker in late afternoon trade as the market followed a sharply lower rand, after President Jacob Zuma ordered Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan to return home from an investor roadshow in the UK. The Treasury confirmed late on Monday that Gordhan would be returning to SA on Monday evening. The rand remained under pressure on the news, trading more than 2% weaker against the dollar from early morning 20-month best levels. At 3.35pm the yield on the benchmark R186 was 8.60% from 8.355%. The yield on the R207 was at 7.64% from 7.425%. The rand was at R12.7059 against the dollar from R12.4215. Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) analyst Gordon Kerr said local bonds did not offer much value at the firmer levels recorded in early morning trade. "With the Reserve Bank not set to cut rates soon, the strategy still remains to sell into the strength," he said. US treasuries were sharply firmer on the softer dollar. The US 10-year bond was at 2.3515% from 2.4116%.
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