BLBG:Treasuries Snap Decline Amid Efforts to Resolve Cyprus Crisis
Treasuries snapped a decline from yesterday as concern Cyprus’s banking crisis will worsen the euro-area’s debt turmoil spurred demand for the safety of U.S. government securities.
Longer-maturity bonds led gains as Cypriot Finance Minister Michael Sarris said his government was asking for Russia’s help after the island’s lawmakers rejected a tax on bank accounts to help pay for a bailout. The advance in Treasuries was tempered before a U.S. report that economists said will show sales of previously owned houses rose last month.
The benchmark 10-year yield fell one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 1.95 percent at 8:09 a.m. in London after climbing six basis points yesterday, the biggest increase since March 7. The 2 percent note due in February 2023 rose 1/8, or $1.25 per $1,000 face amount, to 100 15/32.
The 30-year yield dropped two basis points to 3.18 percent.
Treasuries handed investors a loss of 0.6 percent this year through yesterday, poised for the biggest quarterly decline since the three months ended March 2012, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch Indexes.
To contact the reporter on this story: Neal Armstrong in London at narmstrong8@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Dobson at pdobson2@bloomberg.net