Better Bid To Start The Day, Wider Inputs Dominate

Cross-market impulses from softer than expected monthly Chinese economic activity data and the recently released UK labour market data suite allow Bunds to add to their late Monday move from lows, with the futures contract +40 vs. yesterday’s settlement levels.

• Early rhetoric from the head of the Greek central bank, Stournaras, stuck to his usual dovish lean. He noted that the current phase of ECB rate hikes is coming to an end, while highlighting the Bank’s data-dependent stance when assessing whether 1 or 2 further rate hikes will be required.
• The latest ZEW survey heads up the domestic docket today, while flash Q1 Eurozone GDP data and employment data is also slated.
• ECB speak from Lagarde, de Guindos & Makhlouf is eyed. This comes after the latest RTRS poll reiterated the well-trodden idea that the Bank “will hike its key interest rates by 25 basis points at each of the next two meetings, according to economists polled by Reuters, many of whom also said the bigger risk was rates could go higher still in the future.”
• On the Eurozone sovereign supply front, we look for Belgium’s syndication of its new Jun-43 OLO to price today, pencilling in a size of EUR5bn. Elsewhere, Finland will come to market with EUR1.0-1.5bn of RFGBs including the Sep-33 line.