Bond yields climb on fear Greece will miss QE
Greece has been effectively locked out of the secondary bond markets since January 31, as the yield on its bonds frequently rises above 8 percent – deemed the high-risk line – and the situation is not improving.
There was a fresh decline in bond prices on Wednesday as international traders are worried that Greek bonds will not be included in the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing (QE) program as they follow a separate course to that of the other countries of the eurozone periphery, whose borrowing costs remain low.
The yield on the one-year bond maturing on July 17, 2017 came to 10.46 percent on Wednesday; that on the three-year paper which comes due on April 19, 2019 reached 9.77 percent; while the yield on the benchmark 10-year bond that matures on February 24, 2017 was 7.77 percent.
The Financial Times wrote on Wednesday that the mood in the bond market remains heavy as the Greek bailout program is slowly returning to the list of bond traders’ concerns.
The British daily added that the sudden rise in government debt yields reflects worries about the differences between the International Monetary Fund and the eurozone on the future of the program, and the sense that opportunities for consent will be reduced in a year with several national elections in eurozone countries.
