Germany’s 10-year Bund yield fell to 2.75%, its lowest level since December 3, and is heading for its strongest weekly performance since April. Benchmark borrowing costs are also on course for an eighth straight daily decline—the longest such streak of 2024—as investors rotate into safe-haven assets amid deteriorating risk sentiment. The move has been reinforced by softer-than-expected US inflation data, which strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve may have room to resume interest rate cuts.
In Europe, investors weighed indications that the ECB remains broadly comfortable with the euro’s recent appreciation. Markets also reacted to reports that Bank of France Governor François Villeroy de Galhau, widely viewed as a dovish voice on the Governing Council, could leave his post earlier than previously anticipated. ECB President Christine Lagarde reiterated last week that the inflation outlook is in a “good place,” while downplaying worries about euro strength. Meanwhile, money markets are currently pricing in only about a 30% probability of an ECB rate cut by December.
