South African bonds were weaker in afternoon trade on Tuesday as the market followed a softer rand following President Jacob Zuma’s 12th Cabinet reshuffle since 2009, and his second in 2017.Among those moved were former state security minister David Mahlobo, who has been moved to the energy portfolio and Mmamoloko Kubayi, who has been appointed communications minister.Former higher education minister Blade Nzimande was removed from his post and replaced with Hlengiwe Mkhize.The rand was 0.7% weaker to the dollar, having lost ground before the reshuffle in a stronger dollar environment, with analysts emphasising that markets remained focused on next week’s medium-term budget policy statement.Local bonds felt pressure from the stronger dollar following rumours that a more hawkish US Federal Reserve chairperson, in the form of economist John Taylor, was the new front-runner to replace Janet Yellen. The news caused local bond yields to steepen slightly, in line with US Treasuries, which...
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