German bunds sag ahead of ECB policy decision; mild sell-off seen post Yellen’s hawkish remarks

The German bunds sunk Thursday as investors wait to watch the European Central Bank (ECB) monetary policy meeting scheduled for later in the day. Also, a mild amount of sell-off was observed in the debt market post the hawkish comments delivered by the Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen late Wednesday

The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond, which moves inversely to its price, fell over 2-1/2 basis points to 0.38 percent, the long-term 30-year bond yields also plunged 2-1/2 basis points to 1.12 percent and the yield on short-term 3-year bond slid 1 basis point to -0.68 percent by 09:00 GMT.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to hold its first monetary policy meeting of 2017 on Thursday, January 19. It is widely expected to end in the decision to maintain the status quo on monetary policy. Also, the tone of the accompanying press conference given by President Mario Draghi should similar to that of the previous month.

In December, the European Central Bank extended the quantitative easing (QE) program by nine months from April 2017 whilst cutting back on quantum of purchases. They flagged risks that growth this year faces downside risks from lingering political uncertainty ahead of elections and a challenging external environment, reported DBS Group Research.

Lastly, market will now wait for the release of producer price and manufacturing PMI data, scheduled for release next week.

Meanwhile, the German stock index DAX Index traded 0.09 percent down at 11,591.50 by 09:25 GMT, while at 9:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Euro Strength Index remained neutral at 15.01 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex