German bunds trade slightly lower amid silent session ahead of March trade balance data

The German bunds traded slightly lower during European trading session Thursday ahead of the country’s trade balance for the month of March, scheduled to be released on May 10 by 06:00GMT.

The German 10-year bond yields, which move inversely to its price, slipped 1 basis point to -0.011 percent, the yield on 30-year note also slipped 1 basis point to 0.593 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year traded tad lower at -0.621 percent by 09:15GMT.

A quiet day for economic data from the euro area has already brought the most notable new release. Following an upward surprise to Germany’s industrial production figures yesterday, this morning’s equivalent release from Spain came in below expectations. Total production fell 1.2 percent m/m in March, which represented a fourth decline in five months, Daiwa Capital Markets reported.

Most major components, including output of consumer goods, capital goods and energy, fell on the month. The only exception was production of intermediate goods, which reported a small increase of 0.2 percent m/m. Looking at Q1 as a whole, however, with output having risen by 3.6 percent m/m in January, the biggest jump since 2001, the March figures still left growth in IP at a firm 1.0 percent 3m/3m, the highest for more than a year.

And so, as in Germany, despite downbeat signals from surveys, the industrial sector seemingly provided a solid contribution to Spanish GDP growth (0.7 percent q/q) at the start of the year, the report added.

Meanwhile, the German DAX slipped 0.61 percent to 12,105.20 by 09:20GMT, while at 09:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Euro Strength Index remained neutral at 8.88 (higher than +75 represents bullish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex