(Adds data and background on yield spreads)
By Harry Robertson and Stefano Rebaudo
LONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Euro zone bond yields rose
again on Monday to new multi-month highs as strong U.S. jobs
data from Friday, a rise in oil prices, and another busy week of
government debt issuance continued to put pressure on global
fixed-income markets.
Germany's 10-year bond yield, the benchmark for
the euro zone bloc, rose to 2.612%, the highest since July. It
was last up 2 basis points (bps) at 2.592%.
Meanwhile, the risk premium for Italian government bonds
widened sharply while the one on the French debt approached its
highest levels in over 12 years as investors' focus gradually
shifted to fiscal risks.
The yield gap between French and German 10-year yields
- measure of the risk premium investors demand to
hold French debt - reached 88.1 bps, its highest since Nov. 27.
It rose to 90 bps at the end of November after a deeply
divided lower house rejected the budget plan for 2025.
Political instability raised fears that France could struggle to
curb a burgeoning public deficit.
The spread between Italian and German yields
rose to 125.2 bps and was last up 5 bps at 122.50 bps. Italian
public debt is among the highest in the euro area, even if its
outlook has not raised concerns among investors so far.
The Greek yield spread widened 8 bps; while
Spain's and Portugal's rose 2-3 bps.
Figures on Friday showed the U.S. economy added 256,000 jobs
in December, the most since March and well above economists'
expectations of 160,000.
Traders on Monday were no longer certain the Federal Reserve
will cut rates this year, pricing just 24 bps of rate cuts for
2025, down from 43 bps before the employment data.
"Bond markets struggle to stabilise with the rally in oil,
upbeat U.S. payrolls and the supply wave taking its toll, and a
change of dynamics seems unlikely this week," said Hauke
Siemssen, rates strategist at Commerzbank.
Oil prices have risen roughly 5% over the last two sessions,
driven by new U.S. sanctions on Russia's energy exports.
Siemssen said Commerzbank expects governments to issue about
22 billion euros ($22 billion) of debt this week, with a
possibility of more coming from syndications. Last week they
sold 62 billion euros, Commerzbank said.
Italy sold three and seven-year bonds at their highest
yields since July at an auction on Monday, while Germany moved
some short-term debt.
Germany's two-year yield, more sensitive to
European Central Bank rate expectations, rose to 2.322%, its
highest since November and was up one bp at 2.29%.
Investors wait for U.S. inflation data on Wednesday, while
keeping an eye on British markets, which have been particularly
hard hit in the global bond sell-off.
($1 = 0.9804 euros)