European bond yields edge up from multi-month lows
Updates at 1450 GMT
By Samuel Indyk
LONDON, Oct 3 (Reuters) -Euro zone government bond yields rose on Thursday, moving further awayfrom multi-month lows hit earlier in the week, as markets weighed expectations for European Central Bank interest rate cuts and the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Germany's 10-year yield <DE10YT=RR>, the benchmark for the euro zone, was last up 4 basis points (bps) at 2.14%.
It fell to its lowest level since Jan. 4 on Tuesday at 2.011%, as investors flocked to the relative safety of German Bunds as part of the broad the risk-off tone in financial markets.
Bond yields move inversely to prices, and these moves have largely reversed since then.
"From a rates perspective, we did see a short flight to safety however we should not overdo it because historically we've seen geopolitical tensions do not have a lasting impact on markets. It is more of a short lived reaction, if any,” said Piet Haines Christiansen, chief analyst at Danske Bank.
Germany's two-year yield DE2YT=RR was up 3 bps at 2.08%.
Investors are also watching the ECB asweak growth indicators in the euro area and inflation falling below the ECB's 2% target have prompted major Wall Street banks to bring forward easing expectations, with most now expecting the ECB to lower borrowing costs in October.
Market pricing reflects around a 95% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut this month, following quarter-point reductions at the June and September policy meetings.
"ECB speakers have confirmed the market pricing," said Mohit Kumar, chief economist Europe at Jefferies, referring to speeches from President Christine Lagarde and usually hawkish policymakers Ollie Rehn and Isabel Schnabel.
Schnabel, on Wednesday said euro zone inflation is increasingly likely to ease back to the ECB's 2% target, dropping her long-standing warning about the difficulty of taming price growth and boosting rate cut bets.
Investors were also digesting U.S. data that showed services sector activity jumped to a 1-1/2-year high in September.
Euro zone bonds in recent months have been reacting as much to U.S. data and expectations for Federal Reserve policy, as they have for ECB expectations.
As a result, Friday's U.S. non farm payrolls data will be closely watched.
Italy's 10-year yield IT10YT=RR was up 5 bps at 3.49%, after hitting its lowest since August 2022 on Tuesday at 3.338%. The spread between Italian and German 10-year yields DE10IT10=RR was steady at 133 bps.
France's 10-year yield FR10YT=RR was up 7 bps to 2.95%, as markets absorbed 12 billion euros of long-dated bond supply, which analysts were closely watching after France's new government announced tax rises and spending cuts to lower the deficit this week.
The spread between French and German 10-year yields DE10FR10=RR widened slightly to 79 bps.
Reporting by Samuel Indyk, additional reporting by Medha Singh and Alun John; Editing by Mark Potter, Alex Richardson and Toby Chopra
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