South African government bonds were stronger on Thursday morning, receiving support from the less-hawkish US Federal Reserve’s policy statement.The yield on the benchmark R186 bond was at 8.025%, its lowest level since late February, according to the Iress data.As expected, the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points, but expressed concern about inflation that still ran below its 2% target.The local bond market got a much-needed boost from better than inflation figures earlier in the week, which analysts said increased the scope for the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates during its scheduled meeting next week.Inflation moderated to an annual rate of 4% in February, Statistics SA data showed, from 4.4% in January.At 8.57am, the R186 was bid at 8.025% from 8.08% and the R207 at 6.67% from 6.71%. The rand was at R11.8292 from R11.8299.The yield on the benchmark US 10-year note was at 2.8659% in early trade, from 2.8962%.
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