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Johannesburg - The South African bond market remained flat at noon on Monday‚ awaiting the release of the consumer price index (CPI)‚ on Wednesday‚ for direction.
“The outcome of the G20 meeting did not surprise markets and the reaction in the bond market was subdued. Traders are waiting for the CPI figures on Wednesday. If inflation increases‚ bonds will lose value‚ and vice versa‚” a local trader said.
At 11:53 the benchmark R186 was bid at 7.305% and offered at 7.275% from 7.280% at Thursday’s close. The R157 was bid at 5.355% and offered at 5.335% from 5.340% at its previous close and the R207 was bid at 6.315% and offered at 6.285% from its previous close of 6.295%.
The rand was last bid at R8.8312/$ from R8.8542 at Friday’s close.
The back-end of the previous week could have easily been mistaken for a trading session over the December holiday period as activity slowed down with liquidity drying up in the afternoon session‚ Barclay Banks said in a note on Monday.
“The local bond market ended the week on a high note‚ trending stronger‚ after initially being range bound at the start of the week requiring some offshore bidding from the east to spark some life into the market. Friday was largely uneventful as players looked to square their books ahead of the latest CPI print‚ which incorporates the newest CPI basket‚ to be released on Wednesday. Friday’s ILB auction saw the I2025s attract the bulk of the bidding interest albeit with clearing yields weaker when compared to pre-auction levels across the board for all the auction stock.
