German bunds nearly flat ahead of August manufacturing PMI, ECB’s account of monetary policy meeting

The German bunds remained nearly flat during European session Wednesday as investors wait to watch the country’s manufacturing PMI for the month of August, scheduled to be released on August 22, besides, the European Central Bank’s (ECB) account of monetary policy meeting, due on the same day by 11:30GMT.

However, the major focus this week remains on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech due later today, for further direction in the debt market.

The German 10-year bond yields, which move inversely to its price, rose nearly 1 basis point to 0.335 percent, the yield on 30-year note traded tad higher at 0.992 percent and the yield on short-term 3-year too remained close to 1 basis point higher at -0.616 percent by 09:40GMT.

Focus today turns to the US-China trade talks; the two nations are set to meet to resolve the ongoing trade dispute. Further, Trump’s additional tariffs — announced in July — affecting US$16bn worth of Chinese goods are expected to take effect today. Market participants will also be on the lookout for the Fed’s August meeting minutes for clues on monetary policy setting.

Meanwhile, the German DAX traded flat at 12,382.32 by 09:45GMT, while at 09:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Euro Strength Index remained highly bullish at 128.78 (higher than +75 represents bullish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex