BLBG:Treasuries Decline as Asian Stocks Advance Before Fed Manufacturing Report
Treasuries fell, snapping a gain from last week, as Asian stocks rose and economists forecast a U.S. central bank report today will show manufacturing in the New York region increased.
U.S. 10-year notes yielded 11 basis points more than same- maturity debt in Germany, after investors snapped up bunds as a haven from Europeâs debt crisis. The two rates were about the same at the start of 2012. While Treasuries have benefited from the flight to safety, analysts say gross domestic product growth will push U.S. yields higher. Chinaâs economic growth was stronger than analysts expected, though it was the slowest in 10 quarters, government figures showed today.
âYields will move higher through the yearâ for Treasuries said Peter Jolly, the Sydney-based head of market research at National Australia Bank Ltd., the countryâs largest lender by assets. âThe economy will hold together in the U.S. Chinaâs economy is slowing, but itâs not collapsing by any stretch.
U.S. 10-year rates increased two basis points to 1.88 percent as of 1:48 p.m. in Tokyo, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader prices. The 2 percent security maturing in November 2021 declined 5/32, or $1.56 per $1,000 face amount, to 101 1/32.
The yield will rise to 3.1 percent by year-end, Jolly said. It set a record low of 1.67 percent on Sept. 23.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of shares climbed 1.2 percent.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New Yorkâs Empire State manufacturing index advanced to an eight-month high of 11 in January, based on a Bloomberg News survey of economists before the report today.
Chinese Growth
Chinaâs gross domestic product expanded 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said in Beijing today, versus 8.7 percent projected by a separate Bloomberg poll of economists. The report increased expectations Premier Wen Jiabao will favor easier monetary policy to spur growth in the worldâs second-biggest economy.
Demand for highly-rated government bonds during Europeâs debt crisis will support Treasuries in the early part of 2012, said Hiroki Shimazu, an economist in Tokyo at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., a unit of Japanâs third-largest publicly traded bank by assets.
ââTreasuries may rally for the next couple of weeks because people are fearful of a meltdown in the euro region,â he said.
Treasury Gains
U.S. debt due in 10 years and longer has advanced 31 percent in the past 12 months, the most among 174 government- bond indexes compiled by Bloomberg and the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies, after accounting for currency changes. Same-maturity German bonds gained 15 percent in the period, the figures show.
U.S. 10-year rates were 21 basis points away from the record low as European leaders try to tame a crisis now in its third year and convince investors they can cut spending.
Greek officials are scheduled to meet creditors tomorrow to discuss the size of investor losses in a proposed debt swap. Bill Gross, who runs the worldâs biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co. said in a Twitter post Jan. 15 that the nation is heading for default.
The European Financial Stability Facility, Spain and Greece are scheduled to sell bills today, after borrowing costs declined when France sold securities maturing in a year and less yesterday. Spain and France plan to auction bonds on Jan. 19.
The EFSF, the euro areaâs bailout fund, lost its top credit rating from Standard & Poorâs yesterday after France and Austria were stripped of their AAA grades on Jan. 13.
Investors held to their bearish stance on Treasuries in a weekly survey by Ried Thunberg ICAP, a unit of the worldâs largest interdealer broker. Riedâs index on the market outlook through June fell to 44 for the seven days ended Jan. 13 from 45 the week before. A figure below 50 shows investors expect Treasuries to decline.
To contact the reporter on this story: Wes Goodman in Singapore at wgoodman@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Garfield Reynolds at greynolds1@bloomberg.net