German bunds gain ahead of March ZEW economic sentiment index, EU leaders’ summit

The German bunds gained during European session Monday ahead of the country’s ZEW economic sentiment index for the month of March, scheduled to be released on March 19 by 10:00GMT, besides, the European Union leaders’ summit, due to be held on March 21, which shall provide further direction to the debt market.

The German 10-year bond yields, which move inversely to its price, slipped 1 basis point to 0.082 percent, the yield on 30-year note remained tad lower at 0.744 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year hovered around -0.532 percent by 10:35GMT.

In the euro area, this week brings several releases of note, with March flash sentiment surveys at the back end of the week to be watched closely for an update on economic conditions at the end of the first quarter.

In particular, the Commission’s preliminary consumer confidence indicator, due Thursday, is expected to have posted another modest improvement in March for the third consecutive month, albeit still leaving the index on average in Q1 roughly ½pt below the average in Q4, Daiwa Capital Markets reported.

The flash PMIs, due Friday, are also anticipated to have inched slightly higher in March, although the manufacturing index is likely to have remained in contractionary territory. Moreover, the composite PMI in Q1 is still expected to remain below the Q4 average, therefore signalling a further moderation in GDP growth this quarter, the report added.

Meanwhile, the German DAX remained tad 0.20 percent lower at 11,663.39 by 10:45GMT, while at 10:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Euro Strength Index remained neutral at 70.65 (higher than +75 represents bullish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex