Reports of Italy seeking an ECB.........>

EGB SUMMARY: Reports of Italy seeking an ECB reprieve have boosted BTPs, while

German yields have pushed higher.

- Italian BTPs have been boosted by a report in La Stampa (as reported by BBG

and RTRS; MNI has not seen the article in question) that the Italian government

may reach out to the ECB about extending QE.

- The report echoes previous public comments by Italian officials, including

Cabinet Undersecretary Giancarlo Giorgetti who said last week that he hoped `the

quantitative easing program will go forward'.

- Italy 2-Yr yields are down 4.4bps at 1.224%, 10-Yrs down 2.4bps at 3.163%.

- Meanwhile German yields are higher, with the 5-Yr segment underperforming

following a E3bln sale of Bobl this morning. 2-Yr Bund yields up 0.3bps at

-0.574%, 5-Yr up 1.1bps at -0.178%, and 10-Yr up 1.0bps at 0.390%.

- The Euribor strip is basically flat, some long-dated futures off 0.5 ticks.

- Attention turns to the US crossover, with Q2 GDP data revisions coming up, as

well as any developments in NAFTA negotiations which have steered risk appetite

so far this week.