South African bonds were weaker shortly before midday on Friday, despite a slight recovery in the rand, with market focus on US nonfarm payrolls number later in the day. The jobs report, expected at 3.30pm local time, will provide guidance on the US Federal Reserve’s approach to interest rates in December and in 2018. Economists expect the world’s largest economy to have created 200‚000 jobs in November‚ down from 261‚000 in October‚ while average hourly earnings are expected to have risen at an annual rate of 2.7%‚ from 2.4% in October. SA’s bond market is expected to remain under pressure until the ANC elective conference in December, with trading volumes this week thin. The rand continued to slide against the dollar on Thursday after progress on US tax reforms, said Sasfin Securities bond analysts. The rand was the second-worst performer in the emerging-market basket suggesting that domestic risks are also playing a major role in the recent slippage. At 11.30am the yield on the b...
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