German bunds fall after October services PMI shy estimates; September trade balance in focus

The German bunds fell during European session Wednesday after the country’s services PMI for the month of October surpassed market expectations, also higher than the previous reading in September.

All eyes will now remain on Germany’s trade balance data for the month of September, scheduled to be released on November 8 by 07:00GMT for further direction in the debt market.

The German 10-year bond yield, which move inversely to its price, gained 1 basis point to -0.308 percent, the yield on 30-year note also climbed 1 basis point to 0.207 percent while the yield on short-term 2-year traded nearly flat at -0.645 percent by 09:35GMT.

The headline seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Germany Services PMI Business Activity Index – which is based on responses to a single question asking about changes in the volume of business activity compared with one month previously – registered 51.6 in October.

This was up slightly from September's three-year low of 51.4 (and above the preliminary 'flash' estimate of 51.2), but still one of the weakest readings seen since the current upturn began in mid-2013.

The consumer-focused 'Other Services' sub-sector was the best-performing area for business activity growth, followed closely by Financial Intermediation. The only broad category to see an outright contraction was Transport & Storage.

"Based on these figures, the German economy looks set for another weak performance in the fourth quarter, with a further mild contraction in output not out of the question," said Phil Smith, Principal Economist at IHS Markit.

Meanwhile, the German DAX remained flat at 13,141.36 by 09:40GMT.