German bunds gain following worse-than-expected January retail sales

The German government bunds gained Friday after reading the country’s worse-than-expected retail sales during the month of January. Also, investors will be looking forward to the release of a host of data next week, including Eurozone Q4 GDP and the European Central Bank’s (ECB) monetary policy decision scheduled to be held on March 9.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond, which moves inversely to its price, fell 1 basis point to 0.30 percent, the long-term 30-year bond yields also slipped 1/2 basis point to 1.11 percent while the yield on short-term 1-year bond moved lower by over 1 basis point to -0.84 percent by 08:50 GMT.

German retail sales fell unexpectedly by 0.8 percent on the month in real terms in January, data released by the Federal Statistics Office showed on Friday. The January figure came in sharp contrast to a Reuters consensus forecast for a 0.2 percent rise. However, on the year, retail sales edged up by 2.3 per cent in real terms, the data showed.

Meanwhile, the German stock index DAX Index traded 0.43 percent lower at 12,0005.50 by 09:00 GMT, and at 09:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Euro Strength Index remained neutral at 66.57 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex