BEIJING: A sell-off in China’s government bonds is getting worse by the day.
The plunge in the sovereign notes accelerated on Monday, pushing the benchmark 10-year yield up by the most since April.
Selling momentum surged to the strongest since late 2017, according to the 14-day relative strength index on the rate.
Risk appetite has returned as traders become increasingly optimistic that China and the US will sign a partial trade deal next month.
Meanwhile, bets for aggressive monetary easing have waned as the Asian nation’s inflation grew at a faster-than-expected pace in September.
The People’s Bank of China skipped open-market operations and refrained from using a targeted tool to add one-year cash on Monday, effectively draining a net 50 billion yuan (US$7.1 billion) from the financial system as previously issued reverse repurchase contracts came due.
Officials will provide a hint on whether they are willing to keep borrowing costs low as another 540 billion yuan of short-term funds mature over the rest of the week.
Sell-off in China’s government bonds deepens as yield surges most since April
“Sovereign notes could drop more toward the confirmation of a trade deal in November,” said Stephen Chiu, an Asian currency and rates strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence.
The debt will look attractive when the yield is close to 3.4%, he said, adding the rate could fall to 3.2%-3.3% by year-end. “I don’t think the risk-on mood could last. It’s too early to call it a happy ending of the trade war.”
The yield on China’s 10-year government bonds rose 6 basis points to 3.3% as of 4:50 pm in Shanghai. The cost has jumped 29 basis points since hitting a nearly three-year low in early September, making the notes some of the worst-performing in Asia.
The yuan’s 12-month interest-rate swaps climbed to 2.84%, the highest since May, suggesting traders are pricing in tighter liquidity.