/ 13 May 2013

SA bonds under pressure on back of mining strike fears

Pikitup said earlier on Monday that only a fraction of their workers turned up for work in the morning.
Pikitup said earlier on Monday that only a fraction of their workers turned up for work in the morning.

The rand has been on the back foot against the dollar and bonds also weakened, and the weakening comes on worries that job cuts in the mining sector could spark a repeat of last year's violent strikes which dented investor sentiment.

The yield on the benchmark 2026 government bond was up 6 basis points at 6.735% while the 2015 issue added four basis points 5.04%.

The rand briefly flirted with 9.1555, its weakest level in more than two weeks, and was at 9.1425 by 10.30am, down 0.51% from Friday's close.

Market watchers are wary of a labour union backlash after Anglo American Platinum said last week it would cut 6 000 South African mining jobs, albeit fewer than half the 14 000 initially proposed.

Amplats said the move was necessary to get the company back on the path to profitability after reporting a more-than-140% drop headline earnings in 2012.

Unions vowed to fight any job cuts. It is expected that the decision will cut production capacity by 250 000 ounces this year, around 11% of last year's total production.

The decision is a hammer-blow to South Africa's already struggling mining sector, which is straining under labour disputes and shrinking margins.

The announcement was met with a furious response from South Africa's ruling ANC government, which described Amplats as behaving like a "child".

Violent mining strikes last year hit output in the world's biggest producer of platinum and triggered a run on the rand and local debt by mainly foreign investors.

The rand could now target late April's low of 9.1670, a breach of which would see a test of 9.2300, Standard Bank trader Jan de Fouw said.

"Buying dips for now seems to be the way to go as the bad news continues and the dollar is strong against the majors," de Fouw added. – Reuters