* Bonds weaker on euro zone political uncertainity
* Rand to remain under pressure as the euro struggles
By Vuyani Ndaba
JOHANNESBURG, May 7 (Reuters) – South African government
bonds weakened on Monday as political uncertainty over Europe’s
austerity measures weighed on appetite for riskier assets around
the globe.
Yields on the benchmark 2015 bond jumped five
basis points to 6.425 percent and that on the 2026 issue
up 5.5 basis points to 8.15 percent.
“We walked in this morning and saw that the euro is quite a
bit softer on the back of the French election news and the Greek
political news, which took a little bit of a shine off risk,”
said Daniel Sabiston, a bond dealer at Absa Capital.
In France, Socialist Francois Hollande won the presidential
elections and has pledged to balance the budget, but more slowly
than his opponent, ousted centre-right incumbent Nicolas
Sarkozy.
The result could trigger a push-back against German-led
austerity across the euro zone, unsettling investors.
Global equities were also hit, with South African stocks
following suit. The benchmark Top-40 index slid 0.6
percent to 29,898.17.
Continued…
