German bunds tumble as investors book last-day profits, Eurozone retail sales eyed

The German government bunds tumbled Friday as investors and small traders cashed in profits on the last trading day of the week amid a timid trading session that lacked release of significant economic data.

However, market participants shall remain keen to focus on the Eurozone’s December retail sales data, scheduled to be released later in the day, by 10:00GMT.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond, which moves inversely to its price, jumped over 2 basis points to 0.44 percent, the long-term 30-year bond yields also bounced 3 basis points to 1.20 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year bond rose nearly 1 basis point to -0.72 percent by 08:40 GMT.

Germany's Federal Statistics Office said the unemployment rate dipped to a seasonally adjusted 5.9 percent this month from 6.0 percent in December. Analysts expected the jobless rate to hold steady in January. Further, the number of unemployed people declined by a seasonally adjusted 26,000 from a month earlier, compared to forecasts for a drop of 5,000. Jobless claims fell by 20,000 in December.

German retail sales dropped unexpectedly in December, down 0.9 percent from November, a possible sign that the deadly terror attack at a busy Berlin Christmas market kept many shoppers away from the shopping centres.

Meanwhile, the German stock index DAX Index traded 0.31 percent higher at 11,663.50 by 08:50 GMT, while at 8:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Euro Strength Index remained neutral at -17.65 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex