Portuguese Bonds Lead Peripheral Notes Higher on Deficit-Reduction Plans
By Lukanyo Mnyanda and Lucy Meakin - Oct 18, 2010 2:21 PM GMT+0200 Mon Oct 18 12:21:52 GMT 2010
Portuguese government bonds led the securities of so-called peripheral European nations higher amid optimism the country’s budget will win approval from lawmakers, easing concern about the struggle to cut deficits in the region.
The gains pushed the extra yield, or
spread, investors demand to hold Portuguese 10-year securities instead of similar bunds to the least in eight weeks. Finance Minister
Fernando Teixeira dos Santos presented spending plans to parliament late on Oct. 15. The planned budget cuts are a “bold” step, European Union Economic and Monetary Commissioner
Olli Rehn said. Spanish bonds also rose, while German bund yields stayed near a three-week high.
“There’s the opinion that the government will finally reach an accord on the budget,” said
Glenn Marci, a fixed- income strategist at DZ Bank AG in Frankfurt. “Everybody in the country is clear that if they fail to do so, or fail to comply with the market expectations of a solid budget, then they will be in heavy trouble. Then spreads would widen.”
The yield on the Portuguese 10-year
bond decreased 29 basis points to 5.53 percent as of 12:34 p.m. in London. The spread with similar-maturity bunds narrowed 28 basis points to 3.09 percentage points, the least since Aug. 25. Spain’s 10-year yield fell three basis points to 3.98 percent while the yield on similar Irish bonds fell 14 basis points to 6.06 percent.
Portuguese Cuts
Portugal’s plan includes cuts to the public wage bill and increases to some taxes to trim the budget shortfall. Greece’s near-default led to a surge in borrowing costs for other indebted countries earlier this year.
“It’s a bold and significant step to stabilize public finances,” Rehn told reporters before a meeting of EU finance ministers in Luxembourg today.
Portuguese, Greek and Irish bond yields posted their biggest drop versus German bunds since May last week amid growing confidence that the nations will succeed in cutting their deficits and data that showed lenders in the region are less dependent on European Central Bank funding.
Portuguese government bonds have returned 3.39 percent this month so far, cutting their loss in 2010 to 4.34 percent, according to indexes compiled by Bloomberg and the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies. Spanish bonds made 1.07 percent during October, compared with a 0.4 percent loss by German bonds.
Bunds rose earlier as stock markets declined amid speculation a report tomorrow will show business confidence stayed near a 21-month low, fueling concern that Europe’s economic recovery isn’t yet secure.
The yield on the bund was little changed at 2.38 percent. It reached 2.383 percent on Oct. 15, the highest since Sept. 23.
(Bloomberg)