UK gilts remain narrowly mixed ahead of BoE Governor Carney’s speech

The UK gilts remained narrowly mixed Thursday as investors wait to watch the Bank of England (BoE) Governor Mark Carney’s speech, scheduled to be held today by 19:00GMT for detailed insights into the debt market.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year gilts, remained tad higher at 1.39 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields traded flat at 1.76 percent while the yield on the short-term 2-year traded 1-1/2 basis points lower at 0.87 percent by 09:30GMT.

According to the latest RICS Residential Market Survey, momentum in the UK housing market continues to slow. Most notably in the survey’s findings, buyer demand reportedly fell in March for the twelfth consecutive month, with ongoing concerns about affordability as well as the lack of fresh stock coming onto the market weighing on activity.

So, the number of sales also reportedly continued to fall last month, with 20 percent more respondents reporting a fall rather than rise, extending the run of negative readings on this indicator to more than a year.

Lastly, the survey’s house price balance remained unchanged at zero, matching the lowest reading in more than five years. Price developments in London remained weakest, with a net 47 percent of survey respondents citing further falls.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 traded tad higher at 7,258.00 by 09:30 GMT, while at 09:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Pound Strength Index remained slightly bearish at -77.62 (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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