Eurozone bond yields fall, Draghi stays tight-lipped

Eurozone government bond yields edged off multi-week highs on Monday as European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi remained tight-lipped on policy details after he signalled last week that the urgency for further action was waning. News on Friday that some ECB policymakers had discussed the possibility of lifting interest rates before ending quantitative easing triggered a sharp sell-off in bonds and a jump in the euro.
Monday began with a calmer tone, with investors reluctant to dump safe-haven debt ahead of Wednesday's closely-watched election in the Netherlands and as Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she would seek authority to call a new referendum on independence.
Investors were looking for more clues from a scheduled speech by Draghi in Frankfurt on Monday, but he did not provide any hints on the future direction of monetary policy.
Friday's source-based report said an ECB discussion about lifting rates was brief and that there was no broad support for the idea. The ECB on Thursday highlighted an improving economic outlook, fuelling speculation that the central bank could start to unwind its monetary stimulus later this year. Germany's 10-year government bond yield was down 2 basis points at 0.47 percent, pulling back from five-week highs just shy of 0.50 percent.
Across the euro zone, most yields were 1-5 bps lower. Analysts said the hefty sell-off on Friday was tempting some investors back into the market. Spain was an exception: the country's 10-year borrowing costs rose 3 bps to 1.90 percent, the highest since the day after the Brexit vote in June 2016, after the Scottish referendum news put the focus on Catalonia.