Euro zone yields steady ahead of US-Russia summit, US-China trade deadline

Euro zone bond yields opened steady on Monday ahead of a week of major events, including a US-Russia summit on Ukraine peace and a deadline on a US-China trade truce, as market liquidity thins.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet on Friday in Alaska to try to broker peace in Ukraine. It will be the first in-person meeting between a US and Russian leader since former President Joe Biden met Putin in 2021.

Meanwhile, a 90-day truce in the US-China trade war expires on Tuesday, with traders widely expecting the pause to be extended for another 90 days.

German 10-year yields [DE10YT=RR] were little changed from Friday’s close at 2.684%, after ending last week up 1 basis point. Yields on Bunds, the benchmark for the wider euro zone, have shown minimal movement so far this month.

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Two-year yields [DE2YT=RR], which are more sensitive to changes in interest rate expectations, were steady at 1.955%.

With little market-sensitive data due from the euro zone this week, investor focus will be on July US consumer inflation figures due on Tuesday. A softer reading could strengthen expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut next month.

Commerzbank said euro zone bond supply this week is expected to be the smallest so far this year, limited to a re-opening of German 10-year Bunds and Finnish 10- and 15-year government bonds. Italy has cancelled auctions of 3-year, 7-year and ultralong debt, while Portugal will also refrain from issuing.

Elsewhere, 10-year Italian yields [IT10YT=RR] fell 1 basis point to 3.496%, while French 10-year yields [FR10YT=RR] were unchanged at 3.388%.