Bunds extend falls, Italy debt recovers before auction

LONDON: German Bund futures extended falls in thin volumes on Wednesday with investors reluctant to increase their exposure to safe haven assets despite low expectations this week's EU summit would yield substantive plans to tackle the debt crisis.

"We're still around recent ranges, the moves seem a bit exaggerated because there is no real flow behind them," one trader said. "Hopes (about the EU summit) are fading anyway ... We will be looking to buy on those dips after the summit."

Bund futures fell 40 ticks on the day to 141.30 but volumes were a slim 89,000 lots.

Italian 10-year government bond yields slipped 6 basis points to 6.14 percent before an auction of 9 billion euros of Treasury bills expected to be taken down smoothly by domestic banks although borrowing costs were likely to rise.