South African bonds remained firmer on Friday afternoon, tracking the rand as foreign interest in emerging markets continues. At 3.30pm, the benchmark R186 was bid at 8.515% from 8.565% and the R207 was at 7.43% from 7.47%. Analysts said both foreign and local interest in bonds remained upbeat, with prices relatively contained when compared to the rand. The latter weakened earlier this week as political developments affected sentiment. With a lack of local economic data releases today, bonds were likely to trade in tight ranges ahead of the weekend, Rand Merchant Bank analyst Michelle Wohlberg said. Emerging markets continued to benefit from recent dollar weakness, TreasuryOne analyst Gerard van der Westhuizen said. The euro, which the rand usually tracks, gained against the dollar following the release of eurozone purchasing managers index data — an indication of the economic health of the sector. The rand usually tracks the euro, with a stronger rand benefiting bonds as it reduces...
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