Coronavirus spurs best China bond rally since 2015

Last week, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) injected liquidity into the financial system and reduced interest rates on short-term funds, a move that effectively made it cheaper for traders to build leverage and buy bonds. The central bank’s deputy governor also signalled further cuts to the cost of its medium-term loans to lenders.

BEIJING: Some of the world’s major bond funds are rekindling their love for Chinese government debt, as an unexpected rally in recent weeks took the 10-year yield to the lowest level since late 2016.

The asset management arms of The Pictet Group, UBS Group AG and BNP Paribas SA added China’s government and policy bank bonds on bets that the fatal outbreak of the coronavirus will take a toll on the country’s already-slowing economy. Its sovereign notes rallied the most in five years last week, as the impact of the disease raised hopes for more aggressive central bank easing.