German bunds gain after Q3 GDP falls, albeit better than expectations; 10-year auction in focus

The German bunds gained during European session Wednesday following a fall in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the third quarter of this year, released today, albeit better than market expectations.

Investors will now look forward to the country’s 10-year auction, scheduled to be held today by 10:40GMT for further direction in the debt market.

The German 10-year bond yields, which move inversely to its price, fell 2 basis points to 0.388 percent, the yield on 30-year note also slipped nearly 2 basis points to 1.037 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year lost nearly 1-1/2 basis points to -0.643 percent by 09:00GMT.

The gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2018 - adjusted for price, season and calendar - was 0.2 percent lower than in the second quarter of 2018, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). This is the first quarter-on-quarter decline since the first quarter of 2015. In the first half of 2018, GDP had risen by 0.5 percent in the second and 0.4 percent in the first quarter.

Compared to the previous year, price-adjusted GDP was 1.1 percent higher in the third quarter of 2018 (calendar- adjusted: 1.1 percent), after 2.3 percent in the second (calendar-adjusted: 2.0 percent) and 1.4 percent in the first quarter of 2018 ( calendar-adjusted: 2.1 percent).

Economic output in the third quarter of 2018 was provided by 45.0 million domestic workers, or 556 000 people, or 1.3 percent more than a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the German DAX fell 1.10 percent to 11,345.21 by 09:15GMT, while at 09:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Euro Strength Index remained slightly bearish at -85.97 (higher than +75 represents bullish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex