South African bonds were steady in afternoon trade on Thursday as the euro made good gains to the dollar, after European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi refrained from providing further information on the winding down of the bank’s stimulus programme. The ECB kept rates unchanged, as expected, with Draghi indicating that further detail on the unwinding of its balance sheet could be forthcoming in October or December. The euro immediately gained 1% against the dollar, crossing the $1.20 level again. US treasuries and the yen also gained, with the yield on the 10-year US bond jumping to 2.0872% from 2.1047%. The dollar was further under pressure following the resignation of US Federal Reserve vice-chairperson Stanley Fischer. This strengthened expectations that US President Donald Trump would appoint a new governor for the US Federal Reserve when incumbent Janet Yellen’s position comes up for review in February, sparking a market view that the Fed would follow a more dovish ...
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