Lates News

After several cold-shouldered auctions of US Treasuries last month, this week's 10-year and 30-year bond auctions will be closely watched for signs of weak foreign demand. Although the Treasury's successful auction of 3-year notes on Tuesday (the first of seven major auctions in April) alleviated concerns about rising borrowing costs due to buyers exiting the market, doubts still lingered ahead of the 10-year bond auction at 1 pm Eastern Time on Thursday (1 am Beijing Time). Data from three auctions conducted by the US Treasury in the first half of March showed a decrease in the portion allocated to foreign accounts. Combined with Federal Reserve data showing a decline in US Treasury holdings held by foreign official and international accounts since mid-February, this supports the view that the war has weakened overseas demand for US Treasuries. John Briggs, Head of US Rate Strategy at Natixis, stated that the March auction data does not prove or refute this theory, as it is only one month's auction results, but the decline in foreign holdings does indicate that this may indeed be the case.