The South African bond market was on the defensive in afternoon trade on Tuesday, reflecting a weaker rand that, in turn, bowed to pressure as a result of disappointing GDP number. SA unexpectedly slipped into a technical recession in the first quarter for the first time since 2009, a setback which analysts warned would weigh on foreign investment. "The disappointing GDP data, coupled with the recent downgrades of SA’s debt, is likely to have a negative effect on foreign investment," said Tandisizwe Mahlutshana, an executive at PPS Investments. The poor growth figures come as Moody’s, which still has the country’s debt rating a couple of notches above investment grade, is scheduled to deliver its review on Friday. Last week, S&P Global Ratings and Fitch kept SA’s sovereign ratings unchanged, having already downgraded them in April following the Cabinet shuffle, in which Pravin Gordhan was axed as finance minister. SA’s economy contracted at an annualised rate of 0.7% in the first qu...
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