Bonds round-up: Little change for US Treasuries

Date: Friday 12 Mar 2010

US Treasury bonds were barely changed as US retail sales showed an unexpected rise in February.

They were up 0.3% on the previous month, according to the Commerce Department. Analysts were looking for a 0.2% fall.

However, the University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index fell from 73.6 in February to 72.5 in March. The figure had been expected to rise. Rising unemployment has hit sentiment.

Two-year yields are unchanged at 0.95%, while ten-year yields are less than two basis points lower at 3.71%.

UK gilts are rising in price. Two-year yields are nearly three basis points lower at 1.23%, while ten-year yields are nearly five basis points lower at 4.1%.

The number of house purchase loans was 49% lower in January than in December at just 32,000, although that was up sharply from the 23,000 approved a year earlier.

Alistair Darling’s decision to return the threshold for stamp duty on house purchases back to £125,000 from £175,000 at the start of 2010 forced many to bring forward their plans.

German bunds are falling at the shorter and medium dated end but longer-dated bunds are rising. Two-year yields are one basis point higher at 1.05% but ten-year yields were one basis point lower at 3.17%.

EU statistics agency Eurostat said industrial production across the 16-nation euro zone spiked a better-than-expected 1.7% in January. Analysts were looking for a 0.7% monthly gain. On an annual basis, industrial production rose 1.4%, compared with December's upwardly revised 4.1% fall.

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