Bonds stage slight recovery after China denies it will stop buying US debt
South African bonds were firmer on Thursday afternoon, despite a softer rand, as global bonds reversed recent weakness that followed reports China would scale back purchases of US debt.Reports China was considering reducing, or halting, purchases of US treasuries on Wednesday have, however, been denied by Chinese officials.It was unclear if this denial had put an end to the issue, but the global bond market continued to face possible headwinds, said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam. "There appears to be some jitters in bond markets right now with some people calling the end of the bull market, citing stronger economic growth and central banks unwinding their crisis-era policy measures and raising interest rates."Analysts said the reports China would halt purchases could also have been an indirect warning from China to the US government, which is contemplating trade sanctions against China.Given that the US was poised to boost its debt in 2018 to fund the deficit widened by tax reforms, the...
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