New Zealand bonds slump at close tracking softer U.S. Treasuries, rise in China’s consumer price inflation

New Zealand government bonds slumped at the time of closing Wednesday, tracking softness in the U.S. Treasuries amid a rise in China’s consumer price-led inflation index for the month of December.

At the time of closing, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, rallied 4 basis points to 2.87 percent, the yield on 20-year surged 4-1/2 basis points to 3.35 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year ended 2-1/2 basis points higher at 2.00 percent.

US government bonds steadied on Wednesday following a sell-off triggered by the Japanese central bank’s decision on Tuesday to trim long bond purchases. Yields on 10-year US Treasuries, which move inversely to price, were flat at 2.549 percent after hitting a 10-month high a day earlier.

The moves came after the Bank of Japan said it would scale back its monthly bond purchases, putting investor focus firmly back on the outlook for global central bank policy. The BoJ trimmed purchases of 10-to-25 year debt by ¥10bn to ¥190bn, the first reduction in the sector since December 2016.

China’s consumer inflation accelerated to 1.8 percent in December, official data showed on Wednesday. The consumer price index (CPI) had been expected to rise 1.9 percent from a year earlier, compared with an increase of 1.7 percent in November.

Meanwhile, the NZX 50 index closed 0.81 percent lower at 8,364.90, while at 06:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly NZD Strength Index remained neutral at 18.12 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex

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