BOND REPORT: Treasury Yields End At Nearly 3-week Low Ahead Of Presidential Debates
September 26 2016 - 4:30PM
Dow Jones News
By Ellie Ismailidou, MarketWatch
BOJ's dovish comments push global rates lower
Treasury prices rose Monday, pushing yields to their lowest
levels in nearly three weeks, on growing risk-aversion as investors
anxiously awaited the U.S. presidential debate between Democratic
nominee Hillary Clinton and her Republican rival Donald Trump.
The moves came after yields fell last week by the most in two
months
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/treasury-yields-flat-as-investors-gauge-hawkish-fed-talk-against-weak-data-2016-09-23),
after Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged,
supporting buying appetite for government debt.
Overnight on Monday, dovish comments by Bank of Japan Gov.
Haruhiko Kuroda ,
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bojs-kuroda-ready-to-cut-rates-deeper-into-negative-territory-2016-09-26)who
said he could push rates deeper into negative territory if needed
to boost growth and inflation, helped drive global interest rates
lower.
Meanwhile, sharp losses for Germany's Deutsche Bank
(DBK.XE)(DBK.XE), which earlier sank to an all-time low following
reports that Chancellor Angela Merkel wouldn't support state aid
for the bank, also sparked risk-aversion in global markets, fueling
demand for government debt.
Yields rebounded somewhat in New York morning trade, after a
report showed that sales of newly constructed homes in the U.S.
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-home-sales-stay-stronger-than-expected-as-demand-buoys-a-firmer-pace-of-building-2016-09-26)slipped
less than expected in August, pointing to some stabilization in the
housing market.
On balance, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note
lost 2.6 basis points to 1.589%, its lowest level since Sept. 7.
Treasury yields fall when prices rise and vice versa. One basis
point is equal to one-hundredth of a percentage point.
The yield on the two-year Treasury note , which is most
sensitive to rate changes, fell 1.2 basis points to 0.742%. And the
yield on the 30-year Treasury bond , which is the most sensitive to
long-term growth and inflation expectations, slid 1.1 basis points
to 2.326%, also marking a nearly three-week low.
In Europe, the yield on Germany's 10-year bond known as the
bund, lost 3.7 basis points to negative 0.114%, according to
Tradeweb.
After receiving policy updates by the Fed and the BOJ last week,
Wall Street is now turning its attention to the presidential
debates, particularly as "the direction of the polls point to
increasing uncertainty," said Peter Cardillo, chief market
economist at First Standard Financial Company.
The ensuing investor anxiety, Cardillo said, along with recent
mixed economic data that point to sluggish U.S. economic growth,
fuel the market's risk-aversion and demand for assets perceived as
safe, mainly government debt.
Also adding to the falling-yield trend was an auction of $26
billion in two-year Treasury notes, which on Monday afternoon saw
strong demand, leading the notes to be sold at a lower yield of
0.750% than the originally offered 0.755%, according to data from
Jefferies.
Treasury auctions can have a strong impact on secondary-market
trading. If an auction sees strong demand, leading the notes to be
sold at a higher price and lower yield than anticipated, yields can
fall in the secondary market as well.
The strong demand at a yield of 0.75% "simply doesn't make sense
with the Fed potentially back in play," said Thomas Simons, senior
money markets economist at Jefferies, in an email. Analysts expect
the Fed to hike rates by the end of the year.
According to Simons, a potential explanation of the strong
results despite the low yield is that "real money demand that is
price-agnostic."
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 26, 2016 16:15 ET (20:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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