UK gilts remain mixed ahead of BoE’s monetary policy meeting, Governor Carney’s speech

The United Kingdom’s gilts remained mixed during European trading hours Wednesday ahead of the Bank of England’s (BoE) monetary policy meeting, scheduled to be held on August 1 by 11:00GMT and Governor Mark Carney’s speech, due by 11:30GMT for further direction in the debt market.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year gilts, traded tad higher 0.637 percent, the 30-year yield jumped 2 basis points to 1.375 percent and the yield on the short-term 2-year remained flat at 0.441 percent by 10:30GMT.

While the appointment of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister has prompted increased concerns, among businesses and financial markets alike, about the prospects of a no-deal Brexit, there was a somewhat surprising improvement in consumer confidence this month, Daiwa Capital Markets reported.

In particular, the headline sentiment index rose 2pts to -11, with households reportedly more optimistic about their personal finances and therefore a greater share assessing it to be an appropriate time to make major purchases – indeed, the survey’s purchase index rose 6pts to +4, a five-month high, the report added.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 slipped tad -0.62 percent to 7,599.05 by 10:40GMT.