South African bonds were weaker on Thursday morning, even as the rand staged a slight recovery.The rand, which bonds usually track, has been under pressure this week, succumbing to local political pressure after a Cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday.Nedbank analyst Reezwana Sumad said the sudden and unexplained changes to the Cabinet put the country at risk of negative reactions from credit rating agencies. The nomination of the next Federal Reserve chief in the US has emerging market investors on alert.Sasfin Securities fixed income traders said, investors were reconsidering their emerging-market bond holdings, as there was speculation that a more hawkish candidate was the front runner. "Bonds that are particularly sensitive to political developments and currencies that are relatively more volatile will be more vulnerable if there is a hawkish pick."At 9.10am the benchmark R186 government bond was bid at 8.800% from Wednesday’s 8.745%.The rand was at R13.5521 to the dollar from R13.5765.<...
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