South African government bonds were slightly firmer in thin trade on Friday afternoon, as the market benefited from the rand’s newly found supposed safe-haven status. According to reports the liquid rand has become a favoured safe-haven currency, based on the expected economic reforms and a greater focus on growth under the administration of President Cyril Ramaphosa. Relatively higher local interest rates are also supporting the rand in the traditional carry-trade, where investors borrow low-rate currencies and invest in higher-yielding ones. From one of the most volatile currencies in the world, the rand has been remarkably stable over the past month in an environment of a sharply weaker Russian rouble and Turkish lira. In the past, the rand has usually weakened in line with softer emerging-market currencies, but has instead gained nearly 3% against the greenback so far in 2018. This development has also been positive for local bonds, with them proving to be the best-performing as...
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