South Africa's 10-year government bond yield eased to around 8.58%, down from an over one-week high of 8.61% hit on August 12, as falling oil prices eased inflation concerns and reduced bets for monetary policy tightening. Meanwhile, expectations of a softer US rate path supported demand for emerging-market assets, including South African bonds. On the domestic economic front, South Africa’s inflation rate rose to 5.0% in June 2026 from 4.5% in May, remaining well above the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) 3% target. Despite the increase, the central bank unexpectedly kept the repo rate unchanged at 7.0%, saying the 25-basis-point hike in May was sufficient to keep inflation pressures contained.