BLBG: European Bonds Advance as China Woes Weigh on Inflation Outlook
European government bonds advanced, led by those of Italy and Spain, as investors awaited new measures by China to support its stock market and amid a slide in commodity prices that weighed on the global inflation outlook.
Euro-area bonds were also supported as the German Parliament looked set to back a third bailout for Greece on Wednesday. Chancellor Angela Merkel was rallying support among lawmakers to extend financial aid to the indebted nation, stemming fears of its exit from the euro and boosting demand for the region’s higher-yielding sovereign securities.
“There hasn’t been major moves by the Chinese government to address issues,” said Orlando Green, a fixed-income analyst at Credit Agricole SA’s corporate and investment-banking unit in London. “Against that backdrop of global macro concerns, that sort of supports European government bonds in general.” Green said that votes on Greece were also in focus and any price declines in bonds may offer a buying opportunity.
Italy’s 10-year bond yield fell two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, to 1.80 percent as of 10:14 a.m. London time. The 1.5 percent security due in June 2025 rose 0.16, or 1.60 euros per 1,000-euro ($1,105) face amount, to 97.415. Similar-maturity Spanish bond yields dropped two basis points to 1.99 percent.
Investors awaited U.S. consumer-price data and Federal Open Market Committee minutes set for release Wednesday, Credit Agricole’s Green said.
Consumer-price growth in the U.S. slowed last month, according to the median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg before the Labor Department publishes its report. Monthly inflation eased to 0.2 percent in July from 0.3 percent in June, according to the forecast.