South African bonds tracked the rand weaker on Thursday morning, as market focus briefly shifted away from local politics. The rand’s recent moves have been dictated by political sentiment as the market has priced in the prospects of a Cyril Ramaphosa becoming the ANC’s next leader. The rally stalled on Wednesday but volatility in the currency is expected to return next week, ahead of the ANC’s national executive conference. The rand was trading around R13.53/$ in early trade, but weakened just after the market opened. TreasuryOne dealer Andre Botha said that, with the rand failing to strengthen, it could be assumed that the momentum of notable rand strength had broken. Foreign investors sold R1.32bn of local bonds on Wednesday with trading volumes and liquidity at thin levels, Nedbank analysts said. Global market focus is now on the US nonfarm payroll data which is due on Friday. The data will shed light on whether the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates in December. US le...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.