South African bonds were firmer on Wednesday afternoon, following lower consumer-inflation data released in the morning, while much focus was on central bank policy. Bonds were also tracking a firmer rand, which has gained from the resignation of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe late on Tuesday. Earlier, Statistics SA’s consumer price index rose 4.8% in October from the same month last year. This was in line with expectations, while core inflation was slightly lower than expected‚ at 4.5%, compared with a Trading Economics forecast of 4.6%. The muted numbers were reflective of a persistent absence of material demand-led inflationary pressures, said Investec economist Kamilla Kaplan, but the Reserve Bank was likely to reiterate the balance of risk remained to the upside on Thursday. This was due to among other risks, the rand exchange rate, electricity tariff increases, and global monetary policy normalisation, said Kaplan. Investors were also awaiting the minutes from the U...
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