Most European government bonds hold steady

Prices for US Treasury bonds were up a bit on Wednesday, and yields were lower, as investors looked for safe places to put their money in the wake of the North Korean nuclear test earlier this week and comments following that Pyongyang will treat any increased pressure from the US as a declaration of war. In addition, trade was muted ahead of the release of minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting and a speech from Richmond Fed President, who was the only board member who voted for an increase in interest rates at the meeting.

In morning trade in New York, the two-year Treasury bond dropped 3.8 basis points to 4.79 percent, while the ten-year issue fell 1.8 percent to a yield of 4.74 percent.

Most government bonds in Europe, meanwhile, held steady after a successful Schatz auction and economic growth forecasts for the last half of this year and the first half of next year that were lowered by the European Commission. Yields on the ten-year Bund dropped 0.9 percent to 3.811 percent, but the two-year Schatz was steady at a yield of 3.669 percent. In the UK, gilts held firm as well, with the two-year gilt at 5.011 percent and the ten-year gilt yielding 4.614 percent.

In Japan, meanwhile, yields were up as prices fell as the ten-year Japanese government bond added 2 basis points to 1.745 percent.

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