adminLocal government bonds were softer on Wednesday morning, tracking overnight weakness in the rand that was due to bullish commentary from US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell.
Powell delivered an upbeat outlook for the US economy in testimony before Congress on Tuesday, with the dollar gaining against most currencies, and the rand leading losses among emerging-market currencies.
The rand was also under some pressure from local political developments, following a decision by the ANC to back an EFF motion that could pave the way for expropriation of land without compensation.
Looking ahead, however, market direction should be driven by global developments, said Sasfin Securities bond analysts. Emerging-market bonds had held up relatively well on Tuesday, despite a sell-off of US equities and treasuries, Sasfin said.
Major events later on Wednesday include US inflation data, expected at 1.30pm South African time. At 9.30am the R186 was bid at 8.16% from 8.09% and the R207 at 6.755% from 6.690%.
The rand was at R11.7414 to the dollar from R11.7246. The 10-year treasury was last seen at 2.9053% from 2.8632%. – BusinessLive
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