Treasuries Rally: Weaker US Manufacturing Data Adds to Fears of a Global Slowdown

In the first week of 2019, Lebanon’s BLOM Bond Index (BBI) recorded a downtick of 1.24%, closing at 87.62 points. The BBI’s performance was outpaced by the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI), which registered a 0.63% uptick to close the week ending Jan. 4^th 2019 at 775.03 points.

As such, Lebanon witnessed a rise in the yields on its 5 year (5Y) and (10Y) Eurobonds, as they added 36 basis points (bps) and 20 bps, to close the week at 11.06% and 10.86%, respectively.

In the first week of 2019, Lebanon’s BLOM Bond Index (BBI) recorded a downtick of 1.24%, closing at 87.62 points. The BBI’s performance was outpaced by the JP Morgan Emerging Markets’ Bond Index (EMBI), which regisetered a 0.63% uptick to close the week ending Jan. 4^th 2019 at 775.03 points.

Globally, investors loaded up on US treasuries during the week because of heightened concerns of an economic slowdown with the release of weak Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Data for each of China, the USA, and Europe.

In the USA particularly, demand on treasuries heightened owing it to weak manufacturing data released, with December’s ISM manufacturing index at 54.1 compared to 59.3 recorded the previous month. In fact, yields on the 5Y and 10Y US treasuries retreated from last week’s 2.60% and 2.77%, to 2.37 % and 2.56%, respectively, in the week ending Jan. 04^th .

As for the 5Y and 10Y spreads between the yield on the Lebanese Eurobonds and their US counterparts, they widened from 810 bps and 789 bps last week, to 869 bps and 830 bps, respectively, this week.

Weekly Change of Lebanese Eurobonds Prices