LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) - Euro zone bond yields rose on
Wednesday after British data reminded investors of the
stickiness of services inflation and reiterated expectations
that central banks will be cautious when it comes to interest
rate cuts.
The German 10-year bond yield, the benchmark for
the euro zone bloc, rose 3.9 basis points to 2.55%, briefly
touching its highest in three weeks.
Eyes were on data out of Britain which showed consumer
prices rose by an annual 2.3% last month, down sharply from a
3.2% increase in March, but above market expectations.
British services inflation was sticky, inching down to 5.9%
from 6.0% in March.
Markets see a rate cut by the European Central Bank in June
as all but certain, but their path after that is unclear,
meaning investors are paying close attention to both European
inflation data as well as that from around the world.
Italy's 10-year yield was higher by 3.9 basis
points at 3.84%, and the gap between Italian and German bunds
widened 0.6 basis points to 129 bps.
Germany's two-year bond yield, which is more
sensitive to European Central Bank rate expectations, was 3
basis points higher at 3.02%.