[MARKET ANALYSIS] Fixed income benchmarks muted with UK MP Burnham to speak later and a busy central bank speaker slate this week

  • Fixed income benchmarks initially started the week on the backfoot as energy prices opened higher on renewed US-Iran strikes over the weekend, but have since come off lows as crude benchmarks fall from highs.
  • Gilts (-7 ticks) are slightly softer, ahead of MP Burnham's speech at 11:30BST/06:30EDT. It is to last around 20 minutes, focusing on his economic plans. We do not anticipate a Q&A. He is also expected to focus on expanding the devolution of control away from London, and could also touch on nuances around tax levels, housing stock, defence spending and within that, possibly war bonds. Welfare reform will also feature as part of the move to give local authorities more control. The UK benchmark currently trades in the lower part of a 89.34-89.58 range.
  • Bunds (-3 ticks), likewise, are rangebound (127.35-127.51), despite a hotter-than-expected inflation print from Spain. HICP Y/Y printed at 3.6% vs exp. 3.4%, well above the ECB's 2% target, while the core figure ticked lower to 2.9% from 3.0%. If the trend of lower core figures follows through to other EZ economies, with France, Italy and Germany set to release their inflation figures later this week, this could signal that the ECB would be willing to look through higher headline figures. The lower core figures would also support the view put forward by ECB President Lagarde, in which she said "We see no evidence yet of de-anchoring of inflation expectations or second-round effects that would warrant a more forceful policy response at this stage."
  • USTs (-2 ticks) follow their European counterparts, lacking any clear direction, with an appearance by Fed Chair Warsh at Sintra on Wednesday and the US jobs report on Thursday going to be the key driver for Treasuries. Warsh is likely to maintain a slightly hawkish tone and give little in terms of guidance. Ahead of the jobs report, economists at Capital Economics said further downside in yields could lose momentum, with the June report due to be strong again. The economist states that the increasingly strong labour market is not a reason to delay tightening, which could be the biggest near-term risk to USTs.
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