BLBG: Treasuries Fall on Stocks Gains, Inflation Outlook
(Corrects last sentence to show the Fed announced its bond- purchase program in November.)
Treasuries fell, snapping a three- day advance, as Asian stocks extended gains in U.S. shares and a gauge of trader inflation expectations approached the highest level since 2008.
Benchmark 10-year yields have climbed almost a quarter percentage point from last month’s low on speculation the economy is strong enough for the Federal Reserve to end its $600 billion bond-purchase program as scheduled in June. Gold rallied to a record as investors sought to guard against inflation. Bob Doll at BlackRock Inc., the world’s biggest money manager with $3.6 trillion in assets, said the metal will climb further.
“I’m more bearish” on Treasuries than earlier in the year, said Kei Katayama, leader of the foreign fixed-income group in Tokyo at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd., which oversees the equivalent of $55 billion. “The economic situation is not that bad. We’ll see gradual, slow growth with higher inflation pressure, especially from the commodities market.”
Ten-year yields increased two basis points to 3.38 percent as of 12:02 p.m. in Tokyo, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader prices. The 3.625 percent note due in February 2021 declined 1/8, or $1.25 per $1,000 face amount, to 102 1/32. Katayama said he’s considering trimming his Treasury holdings this month.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of shares rose 1.1 percent, its first gain in four days, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.6 percent in New York.
Intel Sales
Intel Corp., the world’s biggest chipmaker, forecast yesterday second-quarter sales that may top analysts’ estimates. Yahoo! Inc., the most-visited U.S. Web portal, reported first- quarter sales that surpassed estimates.
Gold for June delivery in New York climbed to a record $1,500.50 an ounce yesterday.
The metal “has not seen its cyclical high,” Blackrock’s Doll, chief equity strategist for fundamental equities, said on Bloomberg Television’s “First Up” with Susan Li. “There’s more to go.”
The difference between yields on 10-year notes and Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, a gauge of trader expectations for consumer prices over the life of the debt, widened to 2.65 percentage points. The spread reached 2.67 percentage points on April 11, the most in three years.
Purchases of existing U.S. homes climbed 2.5 percent in March after dropping 9.6 percent the previous month, according to a Bloomberg News survey before the National Association of Realtors report today.
Budget Deficit
Treasuries rose yesterday, pushing the 30-year yield to the lowest level in almost four weeks, on speculation any agreement in Congress to curb the nation’s budget deficit will impede economic growth.
Ten-year yields declined to a three-week low as Greek bond yields reached euro-era records on concern the country will need to restructure its debt.
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said he’s confident U.S. political leaders will bridge differences on spending. Standard & Poor’s lowered the U.S. long-term credit-rating outlook on April 18, citing growing budget deficit.
The Fed is scheduled to buy $1 billion to $2 billion of TIPS maturing from 2013 to 2041 today as part of its plan to pump money into the economy. The central bank announced in November that it would scoop up $600 billion of debt by the middle of the year to sustain the expansion.
To contact the reporter on this story: Wes Goodman in Singapore at wgoodman@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rocky Swift at rswift5@bloomberg.net.