South African bonds were weaker on Friday morning as the local market waits for Moody’s credit ratings review. The rand, which bonds usually track, was flat and relatively weaker from levels seen earlier in the week. Moody’s will be releasing its review of SA’s sovereign rating after US markets close. In June, the agency downgraded the sovereign rating of SA to one notch above subinvestment grade and assigned it a negative outlook. Moody’s is expected to keep its ratings outlook unchanged as most of the agency’s concerns remain unchanged. Moody’s main concerns were over the country’s economic policies, leadership battles around President Jacob Zuma, the management of the assets of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and the recent attacks on the Reserve Bank. Intensifying tension between the US and North Korea also played on market sentiment. Rand Merchant Bank analyst Isaah Mhlanga said rand weakness was not necessarily related to the Moody’s rating review as global markets continued to...
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