Business & Finance

Bond prices supported on Europe scepticism

Published June 27, 2012 Updated June 27, 2012 05:16am

The yield on 10-year US notes stood at 1.625 percent , little changed from late US levels. Treasuries yields ticked up slightly on Monday as market players sought price concessions for auctions this week.

The two-year notes yield rose about 1.0 basis point to 0.311 percent on Tuesday after an auction of $35 billion two-year notes. It last stood at 0.309 percent.

The Treasury will also sell five-year notes on Wednesday and seven-year notes on Thursday for a total $99 billion in supply this week.

Still, despite fresh supplies, the market is underpinned by strong doubts that European leaders, at their Thursday summit, can agree on decisive measures to win back investor confidence in Spanish and Italian bonds.

In addition, investors remained concerned by the US economic slowdown. Although Treasury yields rose briefly on Tuesday after data showing a rise in US single-family home prices, unexpectedly weak consumer confidence in June offset that impact.

"We expect Treasury yields to be steady given strong demand and as the Federal Reserve also stands ready to ease its policy," said Shinichiro Kadota, non-yen strategist at Barclays Securities.

Copyright Reuters, 2012
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