Australian bonds gain amid global equity sell-off; investors await RBA November meeting minutes

Australian government bonds gained across the curve during Asian session on Monday amid global equity sell-off. Sentiment deteriorated earlier on dovish comments from Federal Reserve Vice Chair Clarida. This weighed on U.S. bond yields and the dollar.

The yield on Australia’s benchmark 10-year note, which moves inversely to its price, fell 3 basis points to 2.662 percent, the yield on the long-term 30-year bond dipped 2 basis points to 3.187 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year down 1-1/2 basis points to 2.050 percent by 03:50GMT.

“The U.S. government bond yields declined following dovish comments from Federal Reserve Vice Chair Clarida. The 10-year US government bond yield fell from 3.11- 3.06 percent. The yield on the 2-year US government bond fell from 2.86-2.80 percent,” noted St.George Bank.

The OCBC noted that the risk sentiments are likely to begin the week unsettled amid concerns over the U.S.-China trade tensions as U.S. Vice President Mike Pence remarked that the U.S. “would not change course until China changes its ways” and that the US offers countries in the region “a better option” compared to Beijing. The Asia-Pacific Economic Forum also failed to produce a joint communique, reflecting the tensions between the two nations.

Global yields dropped into the weekend as some caution appears at the US Federal Reserve. Australian rates markets are likely to underperform in this environment.

“The U.S. stocks began the day trading lower on Friday (as Brexit uncertainty grabbed headlines) but then popped higher on trade comments from the US President to finish up 0.2-0.5 percent. Yields fell 4-7bps across the curve, with comments from the Fed emphasising data dependency. The USD fell and commodities rose. On Friday, oil slipped a touch and gold traded up 0.8 percent to USD1,224/oz,” said economists at ANZ.

Lastly, investors await the RBA November meeting minutes, where the central bank kept its policy rate unchanged.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 index traded 0.23 percent lower at 5,703.5 by 04:00 GMT, while at 03:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly AUD Strength Index remained neutral at 57.31 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex