Euro zone bond yields drop on weak US jobs data
Updates after US jobs data
By Harry Robertson and Medha Singh
Nov 1 (Reuters) -Euro zone bond yields fell on Friday after data showed the U.S. labour market slowed sharply in October, bolstering market expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls grew by just 12,000 in October, in a month when hurricanes and strikes impacted the figures. That was down from a 223,000 rise in September and well below economists' expectations of a 113,000 increase.
U.S. short-dated bond yields, which are sensitive to interest rate expectations, fell sharply as investors nudged up their bets on Fed rate cuts.
Germany's 2-year bond yield DE2YT=RR followed suit, last down 6 basis points (bps) at 2.259%, having traded at 2.305% before the data. Yields move inversely to prices.
The size and importance of the U.S. economy and dollar means U.S. economic data moves markets around the world, and expectations about Fed policy spill over to other central banks.
Germany's 10-year bond yield DE10YT=RR was last down 3 bps at 2.359%, having stood flat at 2.389% previously. It was still set for a weekly rise of around 7 bps.
The monthly U.S. jobs figures showed the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1% in October, while average earnings growth was 4% year-on-year, also unchanged from the previous month.
"While the Fed will likely attribute some of the weakness in today’s data to one-off factors, the softness...argues for the Fed to continue its easing cycle at next week's meeting," said Lindsay Rosner, head of multi sector fixed income investing at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
The U.S. 2-year Treasury yield US2YT=RR fell 8 bps to 4.084%, after hitting its highest level since the start of August earlier in the session.
U.S. yields have risen sharply in recent weeks, reflecting a run of strong economic data and rising market expectations that Republican former president Donald Trump will beat Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in next Tuesday's election and implement inflationary tariff and tax policies.
European bond yields have also risen this week, driven by the rise in U.S. yields and a jump in UK borrowing costs in the wake of the new Labour government's budget, as well as stronger-than-expected euro zone inflation data for October.
Italy's 10-year bond yield IT10YT=RR was 2 bps lower at 3.646%, but up around 14 bps for the week.
Reporting by Harry Robertson in London and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirsten Donovan
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
