German bunds lower in silent session ahead of Q4 GDP, January CPI

The German bunds remained tad lower during Friday’s European session amid a muted day that witnessed no data of any economic significance. Investors will keep a close eye on the country’s fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) and January consumer price inflation (CPI) due to be released by mid of next week.

The German 10-year bond yields, which move inversely to its price, rose 1 basis point to 0.77 percent, the yield on 30-year note surged nearly 2 basis points to 1.409 percent and the yield on short-term 3-year traded tad higher at -0.35 percent by 09:10GMT.

Following an upside surprise to the latest Spanish industrial production figures yesterday, today’s French IP figures were also robust, with output rising by 0.5 percent m/m in December to reverse a 0.3 percent m/m drop in the previous month. Manufacturing output increased more modestly, by 0.3 percent m/m, but a sharp pick up in construction sector activity of 4.1 percent m/m, the steepest increase since February, provided an additional contribution.

This left construction output up by more than 8 percent on an annual basis and 1.7 percent 3m/3m over Q4 as a whole. However, the manufacturing sector performed even better in the fourth quarter: supported by favorable global conditions and a pick-up in export demand, production in the sector rose 2.5 percent 3m/3m, the steepest rise since Q111, confirming that it was a key driver of the 0.6 percent q/q rise in French GDP.

Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 0.04 percent to 12,252.57 by 09:10 GMT, while at 09:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Euro Strength Index remained highly bearish at -101.95 (higher than +75 represents bullish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex

Lastly, FxWirePro launches Absolute Return Managed Program. For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/invest