Fall in industrial production pressures bonds

A dip in US industrial production figures in April amplified concern that growth may continue to lag past the first quarter and caused the prices of US Treasury bonds to rise and yields to fall on Tuesday.

Data that showed more housing starts and a higher-than-expected producer price index in April, on the other hand, seemed to have little effect on prices and yields while safe-haven investors also helped keep bond prices up.

At late morning on Tuesday in New York, 2-year Treasury yields were down 2.5 basis points to 3.56 percent.

Ten-year bond yields were 3.5 basis points lower at 4.10 percent, while 30-year bonds were yielding 4.46 percent, a loss of nearly 4 basis points.

In the eurozone, prices and yields were mixed as investors waited for today’s auction by Germany of €8 billion in new 10-year bonds.

The yield on the 2-year Schatz was up 1 basis point to 2.233 percent, but the 10-year Bund was 0.6 basis points lower to yield 3.3 percent.

The UK saw mixed yields in short-dated gilts but firmly lower yields on longer-dated issues after an announcement that a new 50-year gilt would be sold next week, for the first time since 1960.

The 2-year gilt was up 1.6 basis points to yield 4.354 percent, while the 10-year gilt was yielding 4.32 percent, down 2.8 basis points.

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