A wait-and-see session for bonds, just hours before the FED's "minutes", with the T-Bond 2034 stagnating, fluctuating only slightly during the session (2 or 3 basis points maximum) before returning to equilibrium (+1Pt) at 4.425%.

The 'number of the day' provoked no notable reaction: sales of existing homes in the United States fell by 1.9% in April, to an annualized rate of 4.14 million units, according to statistics published on Wednesday by the Federation of Realtors (NAR).

Compared with April 2023, when they stood at 4.22 million units, resales are still down 1.9%.

According to the NAR, the median price of a property rose 5.7% year-on-year to $407.600, marking a tenth consecutive month of growth and a new record for an April.

Investors are now eagerly awaiting the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting, due to be released this evening at 8pm.

These 'minutes' could provide valuable clues as to the timing of future interest rate cuts in the USA.

'Recent comments from FOMC members show no rush to put rate cuts back on the table', say economists at Oddo BHF.

'The Fed can probably wait until the end of the summer to get a clearer picture', add the private bank's analysts.

According to the CME Group's FedWatch barometer, the probability of a rate hike in the autumn is now estimated at 50.8%, compared with 45.6% a month ago.

No figures or market movers in Europe, hence the indecision of investors, reflected in the narrow swings of 10-year Treasury bonds: the German Bund is up +3pts at 2.5380%, the OAT also at 3.0300% and Italian BTPs are also up +3pts at 3.833%.

As is often the case, the biggest change of the day was in British Gilts, which fell by a hefty +11.2pts to 4.2810%.


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