UK gilts trade mixed ahead of 5-year auction, Q4 GDP

The UK gilts traded mixed Monday as investors remain keen to watch the 5-year auction, scheduled to be held on March 28. Also, the country’s fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP), due to be release by the end of this week, will also remain crucial in deciding the movements in the money market.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year gilts, which moves inversely to its price, slumped nearly 2 basis points to 1.18 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields slid nearly 1-1/2 basis points to 1.76 percent while the yield on the short-term 2-year traded over 1-1/2 basis points down at 0.18 percent by 09:30 GMT.

Britain’s mortgage approvals of 42,613 in February were 3.4 percent lower than January's revised 44,142 and 4.6 percent lower compared to the February last year, some way short of the 44,900 consensus forecast.

The BBA's high street banking data showed mortgage borrowing of GBP13.4 billion falling 4.3 percent compared to the preceding month but was up 4.6 percent year on year, or 2.5 percent after allowing for repayments. Further, consumer credit grew at an annual rate of 6.6 percent but business borrowing continued to be subdued, growing by 0.9 percent annually.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 fell 0.67 percent or 44.82 points to 7,091.75 by 09:30 GMT, while at 09:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Pound Strength Index remained slightly bullish at 82.10 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex