ATHENS: German bund yields were on track for their biggest weekly rise of 2015 as fears of an imminent Greek default eased, though strategists still saw European Central Bank bond buying as a powerful driver in the opposite direction.
Greece offered concessions on Friday on some key reforms demanded by international lenders in exchange for new funding, with Athens’s coffers emptying rapidly. Athens looks likely to be able to scrape together enough cash to meet its payment obligations into June after it ordered various state entities to park idle cash with the central bank earlier this week.
This has encouraged investors to sell top-rated bunds and buy higher-yielding debt from peripheral euro economies, traders said, but mixed economic data has provided some restraint. “This week’s rise has been driven by developments in Greece,” said Christian Lenk, rate strategist at DZ Bank.
