Fixed income

According to CNBC, gold prices spiked during Asian trading hours on Thursday after a dovish U.S Federal Reserve opened the door to further rate cuts.

Spot gold was up 1.3% at $1,377.41 per ounce as of 0117 GMT, after hitting its highest since March 17, 2014 at $1,383.81.

U.S. gold futures surged 3% to $1,397.70 an ounce.

Greek 10-year government bond yields fell below 3 percent for the first time on Friday, pushing its cost of 10-year funding to 20 basis points over Italy - an all-time low.
Greek 10-year bond yields dropped seven basis points to an all-time low of 2.98 percent as investors bet on a brighter outlook for Greece ahead of a snap election.

Cyprus' first 30-year bond sale was overloaded with orders on Wednesday, with high demand for such long maturities showing just how much Europe's bond market is adjusting to expectations of persistently low interest rates and central bank stimulus.

Greek government bond yields dropped on Tuesday after a Bloomberg report suggested the country is considering an early repayment of part of its loans from the International Monetary Fund.

Foreign analysts discern a window of opportunity for Greece's return to the international bond markets immediately after Parliament votes on the Prespes name deal with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as the bond issue is seen serving as a useful tool for the ruling party's election narrative.

The government is now preparing to add Greece's return to the money markets to its list of pre-election arguments, with the aim of supporting its narrative that the economy is back to normal.

Greece's benchmark 10-year bond yield staged a remarkable rise on Monday as it increased by 2.61 percent to 4.35 percentage points.

This was up 10 basis points from last Friday's 4.25 percentage points.

Greek state bonds benefited from a more positive mood in Italy on Thursday, with the country's 10-year bond yield hitting a four-week low of 4.26 percent, down 7 basis points on the day.

[Reuters]

Italian government bond yields fell on Thursday as improved risk sentiment in global markets allowed the market to recover some ground from the previous day's sharp sell-off.

Italy's 10-year paper fell five basis points on Thursday morning to 2.80 percent, before rising to 2.82 percent with markets continuing to digest headlines on the 2019 budget.

The Eurogroup agreement met with a warm reception from bond markets and analysts, triggering a rally in Greek bond prices. This has brought back the prospect of a Greek return to the markets this summer if international conditions allow it.