Bonds round-up: Bonds await news of Greek deal

Date: Thursday 11 Feb 2010

European bond prices are falling even though the EU says it has reached an accord on the Greek debt crisis but there have been no details published.

The agreement to help Greece came after talks between European Union President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou earlier today. The markets have been waiting for more concrete news about the EU deal but it does not appear likely they will get any more information today.

German bunds are in decline with two-year yields one basis point higher at 1.05%, while ten-year yields are three basis points higher at 3.23%.

UK gilts are falling even more sharply. Two-year yields are six basis points higher at 1.19% and ten-year yields are eight basis points higher at 4.01%.

A surge in house building during the last three months of 2009 helped keep UK construction orders unchanged from the third quarter and 5% higher than the year before.

Private housing orders leapt 41% quarter-on-quarter and 20% year-on-year, according to the Office for National Statistics, although they fell 27% in 2009 to just over £5bn.

Infrastructure orders were down 13% in the three months, but were 34% higher than the same time in 2008 and up 42.3% overall in 2009 to £8.36bn.

Two-year US Treasury bonds were broadly unchanged with the yield falling one basis point to 0.87%. Longer-dated bonds are falling in price. Ten-year yields are nearly two basis points higher at 3.71%.

Weekly first-time US unemployment claims dropped to 440,000, which sparked a fall in US bond prices.

« Go back to news channel

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE