New Zealand bonds plummet at close tracking U.S. counterpart; eyes on GDT price auction

New Zealand government bonds slumped at the time of closing Tuesday as investors wooed away from safe-haven buying ahead of the country’s GlobalDairyTrade (GDT) price auction, scheduled to be held on Mach 6 for further direction in the debt market.

Also, the downside movement in the U.S. Treasuries in the overnight session added to further sluggishness in the bond market.

At the time of closing, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, jumped 5-1/2 basis points to 3.04 percent, the yield on 20-year surged 6 basis points to 3.56 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year closed 3 basis points higher at 1.96 percent.

Discord over the US President Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports have arisen, with House Speaker Paul Ryan rejecting the plan which in turn evoked a quick response from Trump that “No, we’re not backing down”.

Trump had also tweeted that “tariffs on steel and aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed”. House Republicans are already drafting a letter to Trump expressing concerns about the prospect of broad, global tariffs on aluminum and steel imports

Lingering doubts about New Zealand supply conditions helped drive dairy prices sharply higher at the latest GDT auction, with the GDT price index gaining 5.9 percent since the last sale in mid-January.

Lastly, Fonterra has said that it expects production to fall by 3 percent over this season, compared with last, due to drought in parts of the country.

Meanwhile, the NZX 50 index closed 0.58 percent higher at 8,327.66, while at 05:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly NZD Strength Index remained neutral at 20.72 (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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