South African bonds were slightly softer shortly before midday on Wednesday morning, tracking a weaker rand ahead of the release of US consumer inflation data on Thursday. Weak inflation data could put the dollar under pressure and benefit US Treasuries, analysts said, as the US Federal Reserve considers increasing interest-rates again this year. The dollar has recovered this week somewhat, as tension in North Korea eased and the economic effect of tropical storm Irma proved less serious than initially expected. Local politics also weighed on bonds, after a court ruling that the 2015 KwaZulu-Natal provincial elections were unlawful. Bonds, however, hardly reacted to this, more focused on economic data this week, said Rand Merchant Bank analyst Michelle Wohlberg. Nonresidents picked up an impressive R4bn worth of bonds during Tuesday’s South African government bond auction, and were influential participants in the weekly auction, particularly for the longer dated R2044 and R2030, sai...
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