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The German bunds traded nearly flat during European trading session Tuesday after the country’s Ifo business climate index cheered market participants. However, investors will keep a close eye on the 10-year auction, scheduled to be held on September 25 by 09:40GMT and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s speech, due to be delivered later today.
The German 10-year bond yield, which move inversely to its price, remained flat at -0.581 percent, the yield on 30-year note slipped 1/2 basis point to -0.121 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year hovered around -0.716 percent by 10:55GMT.
Germany’s business climate index rose to 94.6 from 94.3 in August, snapping a run of five consecutive falls. September’s reading compared with a consensus forecast for 94.4, Reuters reported.
In contrast to the downbeat French PMI in September, the INSEE business survey today suggested that conditions remained broadly stable at the end of Q3, with the headline business composite indicator rising 1pt to 106, Daiwa Capital Markets reported.
While the headline manufacturing index slipped back 1pt in September, at 102 it still remained above the long-run average, with firms in the sector on the whole a touch more upbeat about their order books and therefore more optimistic about the near-term production expectations, the report added.
Services firms were reportedly more optimistic too, with the headline index rising 1pt to 106, while retailers suggested a marked bounce-back in the business climate in September, with the relevant index up 4pts to 104.
And construction firms were reportedly their most upbeat since May 2008. Overall, like the PMIs – which saw the quarterly index rise above the averages in Q2 and Q1 – today’s survey further supports our forecast of another of solid French GDP growth, of 0.3 percent q/q in Q3, Daiwa further noted in the report.
Meanwhile, the German DAX hovered around 12,351.82 by 11:00GMT.
