UK 10-year government bonds head for biggest sell-off in 3 months
Updates with fresh prices and record, government borrowing forecast
By William Schomberg and David Milliken
LONDON, Oct 2 (Reuters) -British 10-year government bonds headed for their biggest daily fall in three months on Wednesday, as European bonds reversed the previous day's sharp gains and investors focused on the prospect of higher debt issuance after the upcoming budget.
Ten-year gilt yields GB10YT=RR rose 10.5 basis points on the day to 4.05%, the highest yield since Sept. 3 and the biggest daily rise in yields - or fall in prices - since July 1.
Stronger-than-expected U.S. ADP payrolls data added to the bond sell-off.
Euro zone bonds recorded their biggest rise in yields since mid-June, but the increase in gilt yields was greater, pushing 10-year gilts' yield premium over German debt DE10GB10=RR to its highest since August 2023 at 193 bps.
"With the budget, there is some nervousness around gilt supply," Megum Muhic, a gilt strategist with RBC Capital Markets, said.
Finance minister Rachel Reeves is due to deliver the first tax and spending plans of Britain's new government on Oct. 30 after the Labour Party won a parliamentary election in July.
Reeves and Prime Minister Keir Starmer have suggested some taxes will rise but they have ruled out increases to the main rates of taxation, leading to speculation about higher borrowing to help fund spending or longer-term investment.
Japanese investment bank Nomura - a primary dealer in British government bonds - forecast on Wednesday that the UK Debt Management Office would revise up its 2024/25 gilt issuance plans to 315 billion pounds ($418 billion), from 278 billion, pounds after the budget.
"A new government and refreshed fiscal rules make the upcoming Budget on 30 October particularly uncertain. We expect deficits to be raised and policy effectively loosened," Nomura economist George Buckley said.
The difference between British and German bond yields also reflects Britain's stronger economic performance in 2024, leading investors to price in fewer interest rate cuts by the Bank of England than the European Central Bank.
Investors on Wednesday priced in 36 bps of rate cuts by the BoE by the end of the year, compared with 52 bps for the ECB.
Earlier on Wednesday, an auction of 4 billion pounds of 4.125% July 2029 gilts GB5YT=RR, GBT4E29= met lukewarm interest from investors with a relatively long yield tail of 1.2 bps suggesting many made low-price bids.
($1 = 0.7543 pounds)
Writing by William Schomberg and David Milliken, editing by Andy Bruce and Alex Richardson
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