Markets

Gilts tread water before BoE and ECB meetings

Published October 4, 2012 Updated October 4, 2012 08:43am

 

The December gilt future was 3 ticks up at 120.75 at 0739 GMT, in line with the equivalent Bund and just off a six-day high of 120.86 touched at the start of the session.

 

Ten-year gilt yields were unchanged at 1.69 percent , and their spread over Bunds was steady at 24 basis points.

 

Almost all economists expect the BoE's monetary policy committee to keep policy unchanged, as its four-month, 50 billion pound programme of gilt purchases to stimulate Britain's economy draws to a close.

 

"The MPC is unlikely to change policy this month ... but signs of softening global growth are likely to convince some members of the Committee that the need for future policy easing ...is still more likely than not," fixed income strategists at Lloyds wrote in a note to clients.

 

 The European Central Bank is also expected to leave policy steady, so the main focus will be on ECB President Mario Draghi's monthly news conference.

 

 There was little market reaction to data from mortgage lender Halifax showing an unexpected fall in British house prices last month.

 

There may be more interest in the outcome of French and especially Spanish debt sales as a gauge of the market's appetite for riskier assets.

Copyright Reuters, 2012