[MARKET ANALYSIS] Energy continues to dictate fixed income, with benchmarks at contract lows. No move to Spanish CPI lifting by a full point
- A bearish session for fixed income as tensions remain high and rhetoric/reporting/activity around the Middle East ramps up into the weekend. As it stands, the main thing we are attentive to is any sign of a 'last strike' or ground incursion by the US.
- Initially, benchmarks were only modestly lower as crude was only USD 0.30-40/bbl into the green. However, throughout the morning, on reports of attacks at US military bases, Hormuz remaining closed, and continued reporting around a possible ground incursion, energy has lifted to the detriment of fixed income.
- USTs at a 109-27+ base, lower by c. 10 ticks, notching a fresh WTD and contract low. Similarly, Bunds are at a 124.28 base with downside of 70 ticks at most, also marking a WTD and contract low. Finally, Gilts are directionally in-fitting but with magnitudes larger, as has been the case in recent days. As above, the benchmark is at a WTD and contract low of 85.91, with losses of over a full point at most.
- Elsewhere, no move to it but a headline worth being aware of relates to France, as the nation's deficit was 5.1% of GDP in 2025, beneath the government's goal of 5.4%. No relief from this, with OATs also lower by nearly a full point, and the OAT-Bund 10yr yield spread widening modestly.
- Finally, Spanish preliminary CPI wasn't as hot as expected this morning for March, though the figure did come in markedly above the prior rate, with the headline a full point higher vs the prior; no move to the data. Within the series, INE wrote that the evolution of prices was "mainly due to the rise in prices of fuels and lubricants for personal vehicles."; i.e. signs that the Middle East situation is filtering through. Ahead, participants, as is the ECB, are particularly attentive to any signs of second-round inflationary effects.
Context
The fixed income market is under significant pressure as heightened tensions in the Middle East drive energy prices up, leading to new lows for USTs, Bunds, and Gilts. The bearish sentiment is underscored by a lack of positive movement from the Spanish CPI data, which, while higher than before, failed to alleviate concerns about inflation, particularly regarding its impact on the ECB's monetary policy outlook.
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