German bond yields rose sharply again today after Bloomberg reported that the European Central Bank mooted a rise in short-term interest rates before its bond-buying program, or quantitative easing, was phased out. The euro rose and European stocks gave back their earlier gains. The Bloomberg report cited “people familiar with the matter” but said that the ECB council didn’t discuss any particular strategy or timeline. With German inflation pushing towards the 2% mark, German voters are becoming nervous about negative yields on German government debt out to the 5-year maturity. Negative yields and a 2% inflation rate spell an unacceptable rate of erosion of German savings.
German yields spike on ECB rumor
German bonds reacted to a report from Bloomberg, as voters become increasingly nervous about negative yields.
