The biggest event for markets this week will be Thursday's meeting of the European Central Bank's governing council and the press conference following it from ECB president Christine Lagarde.Why it matters: With interest rates jumping around the globe, investors are looking to central bank heads to see if they will follow the lead of Fed chair Jerome Powell, who says rising rates are nothing to worry about, or Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda, who has drawn a line in the sand on rates.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeThe big picture: Government bond yields are rising because central bankers say they want inflation, but rising inflation expectations come with higher borrowing costs in a world that already is indebted to the tune of 356% of global GDP with no real plan to reduce its debt load.The latest: The continuation of the selloff in equities seen on Friday could push policymakers toward a new sense o
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SYDNEY, March 4 (Reuters) - The Australian and New Zealand dollars flatlined on Thursday after another spike in global bond yields spooked investors away from riskier assets, though sentiment was aided by data showing a record Australian trade surplus.
The Aussie stood at $0.7785, having fallen from $0.7839 overnight when a jump in U.S. Treasury yields knocked equities lower. Importantly, it managed to stay clear of major support around $0.7693, keeping the recent uptrend alive.
The kiwi dollar was holding at $0.7251, after also easing from a $0.7302 top overnight. It has solid support around $0.7210.
The renewed selloff in Treasuries rippled though local markets with yields on Australian 10-year bonds popping back up to 1.79%, from a low of 1.628% at the start of the week.
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LONDON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve: 1, bond markets: 0. That’s more or less where it stands after Round One in the tussle over borrowing costs. But Round Two, and perhaps even Round Three, are inevitable, and they may require policy action rather than just words.
FILE PHOTO: Federal Reserve Board building on Constitution Avenue is pictured in Washington, U.S., March 19, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
February’s bond selloff sent U.S. 10- and 30-year Treasury yields more than 30 basis points higher while governments from France to Australia saw their borrowing costs jump. Stock markets, which for years surfed the cheap-money wave, tumbled.
The Australian dollar eased on Tuesday as the central bank sought to calm nervous bond markets by recommitting a pledge to keep buying bonds, and reassuring that faster growth will not lead to an early tightening cycle.
RBA holds cash rate and 3-yr yield target at 0.1% Says committed to yield target, to buy more bonds if needed (Adds comment from CBA economist in pars 7,8, 11)
SYDNEY, March 2 (Reuters) - Australia’s central bank on Tuesday affirmed its pledge to keep interest rates at historic lows as policymakers battle to stop surging bond yields disrupting the country’s surprisingly strong economic recovery.
Concluding its March board meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept rates at 0.1% and committed to maintaining its “highly supportive monetary conditions” until its employment and inflation goals are met.
Global bond markets have sold off heavily in recent days on speculation the massive monetary stimulus will soon end as economies emerge from the pandemic-induced recession.