LONDON (Reuters) – Citi reduced its overweight position in longer-dated South Africa government bonds and said it established an underweight in the rand, citing expectations that social unrest could continue.
Crowds clashed with police and ransacked or burned shopping malls in South Africa with dozens reported killed as grievances unleashed by the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma boiled over into the worst violence in years.
“Following a couple of days of heightened social unrest in South Africa, it is time to take a step back and reflect on the causes and consequences of the current noise,” Citi’s Luis Costa said in a note to clients.
“We believe these unfortunate recent developments may have further legs and important consequences to the Ramaphosa government and, most importantly, formation of any consensus in an already divided ANC.”
(Reporting by Karin Strohecker; Editing by Tom Arnold)
