TORONTO: Canada's sale of 30-year government bonds generated the lowest average yield in at least 8 years on Wednesday, as mounting euro zone debt concerns sent investors flocking to markets viewed as safe havens.
Global equity markets and the euro slid on Wednesday after the European Central Bank's (ECB's) buying of regional sovereign debt failed to stem a bond sell-off in the euro zone or to calm fears the debt crisis was spreading.
Canada's sale of C$1.5 billion ($1.47 billion) of bonds due 2045 produced an average yield of 2.763 percent, down from 3.515 percent at June's 30-year bond auction and the lowest since at least late 2003.
"It was received quite well," Andrew Kelvin, a senior fixed income strategist with TD Securities said of the auction.
"Yields are very, very low from a historical perspective. The curve is generally well bid. I don't think we should be surprised to see it do well given the lack of supply in the very long end of the curve," he added.
"Given the uncertainty in markets today there has been very good demand for Canadian debt including in the long end."
Canada's 30-year bond yield last month hit a multi-decade low of 2.625 percent, as investors fearful about the euro zone debt crisis bought the government debt of countries with healthier finances.
By comparison, the Italian government must now pay more than 7 percent to borrow money for just 10 years, while Greek 10-year yields have topped 33 percent.
The ECB bought Italian and Spanish bonds on Wednesday in an effort to halt a dramatic rise in debt yields in the region, which has started to spread to top-rated nations including France, the euro zone's second biggest economy.
"We're seen as a safe bet. We're not seen as a credit risk whereas Italy is. Canadian bonds are still seen as a risk-free asset," said Kelvin.
There were more than C$3.66 billion in bids from primary dealers, resulting in a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.44 up from the 2.36 percent at the last auction though below the 2.86 percent seen a year ago.
The Bank of Canada said it bought C$300 million of the issue for itself and on behalf of its clients.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.