German bunds trade tight after August manufacturing PMI falls; ECB’s account of monetary policy meeting eyed

The German bunds remained in a tight range during European session Thursday after the country’s August manufacturing PMI for the month of August fell, also missing market expectations for the same. Investors will now focus on the European Central Bank’s (ECB) account of monetary policy meeting, scheduled to be released today by 11:30GMT for further direction in the debt market.

The German 10-year bond yields, which move inversely to its price, remained range-bound at 0.349 percent, the yield on 30-year note traded steady at q.007 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year rose 1 basis point to -0.600 percent by 09:05GMT.

Germany’s IHS Markit flash composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors that account for more than two-thirds of the economy, rose to a six-month high reading of 55.7 in August from 55.0 in July. Further, an index measuring manufacturing activity fell to 56.1 from 56.9 in July, the lowest reading in two months. The index for services rose to a six-month high of 55.2 from 54.1.

Separately, there might just be a little extra light shone on the ECB’s monetary policy debate today by the publication of the account of last month’s Governing Council meeting. Just as the Fed’s minutes yesterday provided no show-stoppers and Draghi’s press conference after the meeting offered little in the way of new insights, we suspect that the ECB’s account will not prove particularly enlightening.

Meanwhile, the German DAX traded flat at 12,386.99 by 09:20GMT, while at 09:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Euro Strength Index remained neutral at 50.25 (higher than +75 represents bullish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex