German bunds trade nearly flat on mixed bag of economic data

The German bunds traded nearly flat Friday as investors witnessed a mixed bag of economic results, which limited the space to move the market in any particular direction.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond hovered around -0.092 percent mark, the yield on short-term 30-year note remained steady at 0.412 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year bond stood flat at -0.624 percent by 09:20 GMT.

Germany’s second quarter flash gross domestic product (GDP) rose higher than expected by 0.4 percent q/q, against market expectations of 0.2 percent q/q, as compared to 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2016. On an annual basis, it increased 3.1 percent y/y, higher than the consensus of 1.5 percent y/y, from previous 1.5 percent.

Moreover, Germany final consumer price index (CPI) remained unchanged at 0.3 percent m/m, coming in the line of market consensus. On an annual basis, it increased 0.4 percent y/y.

On the other hand, Eurozone second quarter flash GDP just grew 0.3 percent q/q, trending in the line of market expectations, from 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2016.

Lastly, the German bunds have been closely following developments in oil markets because of their impact on inflation expectations. The crude oil prices bounced on expectations that oil exporting countries at an upcoming meeting talk about ways to prop up a market that continues to be dogged by a supply overhang. The International benchmark Brent futures rose 0.54 percent to $46.29 and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) jumped 0.71 percent to $43.80 by 09:20 GMT.

Meanwhile, the German stock index DAX Index traded 0.34 percent lower at 10,706.5 by 09:20 GMT.