EURO GOVT-Bunds reverse gains after solid Spanish auction
Thu Jun 2, 2011 6:23am EDT
* Bunds retreat after solid Spanish bond auction
* Bund futures earlier hit 4-mth highs, test 126.00
* 10-year yields back below 3 pct on U.S. growth worries
* Greek downgrade overshadows aid deal hopes
By Kirsten Donovan
LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) -
German government bonds retreated from four-month highs on Thursday as strong demand at a Spanish sale showed the higher-rated of the euro zone states struggling with the debt crisis were riding out the latest bout of market stress.
Bunds had rallied in early trade, with futures testing the 126.00 level and 10-year cash yields retreating back under three percent after a multi-notch credit rating downgrade for
Greece and a pummelling for equities on fears the U.S. economic recovery is losing steam.
"
Since the auction it looks like people are selling Bunds and trying to get paper from non-core countries," said Charles Berry, a trader at Landesbank Baden-Wuertemberg in Germany.
"We've probably seen the peak (in Bunds) for today. People have been playing the Greek story and buying bunds on negative news but how much more bad news can you get from Greece?"
Greece and a team of EU/IMF/ECB inspectors aims to conclude talks on a medium-term fiscal plan by Friday when Prime Minister George Papandreou is set to discuss its main points with Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker, a senior government official told Reuters.
But late on Wednesday, Moody's Investors Service's cut Greece's credit rating by a further three notches to Caa1 and indicated another downgrade is likely.
"It looks increasingly likely some sort of package will be cobbled together," said Nick Stamenkovic, rate strategist at RIA Capital Markets.
"But until then investors are wary and there's a huge amount of uncertainty given the political problems in Greece and questions over whether the privatisation programme will go ahead in full."
Short-dated Greek bond yields were up to 40 basis points higher and the cost of insuring against a default rose 25 bps.
But Spanish, Italian and Belgian 10-year spreads over Bunds narrowed after coming under earlier pressure, with the Spanish spread 4 bps tighter at 230 bps.
Trading conditions were thin with many European markets closed for the Ascension Day holiday.
June Bund futures FGBLc1 were down 12 ticks at 125.56 having risen as high as 125.98.
"Positioning is a lot cleaner in Europe after a lot of shorts got covered on Monday and what we saw in the U.S. yesterday was the capitulation trade, closing the short positions, and that pulled Bunds higher too," said a trader.
"We may see a bit of a pause but it's unlikely people are going to be wanting to carry a lot of risk going into Friday's (U.S.) payrolls report.
GROWTH DOUBTS
Data on Wednesday showed U.S. companies hired fewer workers than expected in May and output in the manufacturing sector slowed to its lowest since 2009, pushing 10-year U.S. Treasury yields to a six-month low below 3.0 percent US10YT=RR.
Two-year German bond yields DE2YT=TWEB were 2.5 basis points higher at 1.646 percent, with 10-year yields DE10YT=TWEB up 1.2 bps at flat at 3.007 percent.
Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields dipped below those of German Bunds after Wednesday's data for the first time in a month.
More gloomy economic news is likely to see Treasuries continue outperforming Bunds, especially if the ECB next week indicates that it will hike interest rates in July.
That could potentially lead the market to price in a more aggressive tightening cycle again, while agreement on a further round of aid for Greece would stem some of the safe-haven flows into Bunds.
"The ECB meeting is crucial given the market is focusing on the U.S. and Greece," said RIA's Stamenkovic.
"If the ECB signal they will continue to raise rates... that may provide a bit of a wake-up call, especially at the short end."
Spain sold 3.95 billion euros of 2014 and 2015 bonds on Thursday, with demand up to 3 times the amount on offer, reflecting how it can still easily raise funds despite tepid demand at a previous auction in May
"Cover was strong," said Rabobank rate strategist Richard McGuire.
"Against the backdrop of Greece's multi-notch downgrade, this sale will provide some fodder for fans of the Spanish decoupling story."