Advertisement
UK markets closed
  • FTSE 100

    8,139.83
    +60.97 (+0.75%)
     
  • FTSE 250

    19,824.16
    +222.18 (+1.13%)
     
  • AIM

    755.28
    +2.16 (+0.29%)
     
  • GBP/EUR

    1.1679
    +0.0022 (+0.19%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2494
    -0.0017 (-0.13%)
     
  • Bitcoin GBP

    51,047.45
    -584.41 (-1.13%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,327.57
    -68.96 (-4.94%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,099.96
    +51.54 (+1.02%)
     
  • DOW

    38,239.66
    +153.86 (+0.40%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    83.66
    +0.09 (+0.11%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,349.60
    +7.10 (+0.30%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    37,934.76
    +306.28 (+0.81%)
     
  • HANG SENG

    17,651.15
    +366.61 (+2.12%)
     
  • DAX

    18,161.01
    +243.73 (+1.36%)
     
  • CAC 40

    8,088.24
    +71.59 (+0.89%)
     

TREASURIES-Yields dip on dovish central bank outlook, overseas demand

* Traders buy back Treasuries after profit-taking

* Low inflation outlook supports 30-year bonds

* Record (LSE: REC.L - news) low German yields support Treasuries prices (New (KOSDAQ: 160550.KQ - news) throughout, updates prices and market activity and adds comments)

By Sam Forgione

NEW YORK, March 20 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasuries yields dipped on Friday, but remained off recent multi-week lows, as accommodative central bank policies in the United States and Europe prompted traders to resume buying U.S. government bonds a day after many had taken profits.

"People are looking for a very cautious Fed, and prices today are reflecting that," said Justin Lederer, an analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald in New York.

ADVERTISEMENT

Treasuries had rallied on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve suggested it was pursuing a less aggressive timeline for raising interest rates. After Thursday's profit taking, traders resumed buying Treasuries on the view that the Fed would likely keep rates low until at least September, analysts said.

Yields on 10- and 30-year Treasuries were still off nearly six-week lows hit early on Thursday.

German 10-year Bund yields hit a record low of 0.168 percent in the wake of the European Central Bank's recent bond-buying program, drawing overseas investors into higher-yielding U.S. government bonds.

"The (U.S.) 10-year note is being influenced by Germany," said Jonathan Lewis, chief investment officer at New York-based Samson Capital Advisors.

The outlook for low inflation, which the Fed reinforced on Wednesday by downgrading its inflation projection for 2015, continued to support 30-year Treasuries prices. Longer-dated U.S. bonds benefit from a lack of inflation since inflation erodes the value of interest rate payouts.

Yields on Treasury notes and bonds of all maturities fell this week after rising the previous week. Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes were last up 14/32 in price to yield 1.93 percent, from a yield of 1.98 percent late Thursday. The yield hit 1.9 percent on Thursday.

U.S. 30-year bonds were last up 24/32 in price to yield 2.5 percent, from a yield of 2.54 percent late Thursday. The yield hit 2.497 percent, just above Thursday's low of 2.496 percent.

U.S. three-year notes, which are among the shorter-dated maturities most vulnerable to Fed rate hikes, were last up 4/32 in price to yield 0.94 percent, from a yield of 1 percent late Thursday. The yield hit 0.89 percent on Thursday, its lowest since Feb. 6.

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 stock index was last up 1.07 percent. (Editing by Bernadette Baum and David Gregorio)