Australian 10-year bond yield touches 1-week low, follows U.S. Treasuries

Australian bonds rallied on Wednesday following firmness in the U.S. Treasuries as lower inflation data and news that President Donald Trump had ousted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pushed investors towards safe-haven buying.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, fell 6 basis points to 2.760 percent, the yield on the long-term 30-year note dipped 5 basis points to 3.349 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year down 3-1/2 basis points to 2.008 percent by 03:40 GMT.

In the United States, Treasuries saw upward pressure across much of the curve as markets absorbed a relatively mild February CPI result. Also, markets largely took in stride the firing of Secretary of State Tillerson, though we anticipate increased geopolitical turbulence will likely be a factor in the weeks ahead as a paradigm shift is adopted at the State Department (particularly given the more hawkish leanings of incoming Secretary Pompeo).

This all comes amidst a backdrop of pending talks between the US and North Korea, which could all serve to backfire on the Trump administration. Markets now look ahead to a greater flow of data on Wednesday, highlighted by retail sales, producer prices, and business inventories data.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 index traded 0.15 percent lower at 5,915.5 by 04:25 GMT, while at 04:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly AUD Strength Index remained neutral at 43.75 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex

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