Germany slashed the volume of federal debt sales planned for the fourth quarter by €31 billion ($33 billion) as the government winds down financial support for households and companies hit by soaring energy costs.
(Bloomberg) — Germany slashed the volume of federal debt sales planned for the fourth quarter by €31 billion ($33 billion) as the government winds down financial support for households and companies hit by soaring energy costs.
Bond issuance will be cut by €8 billion and sales of bills by €23 billion compared with a plan published last December, the federal finance agency said Tuesday in an emailed statement. Together with the reduction in the third quarter, that would trim total sales for this year by €45 billion to about €500 billion, still a record.
“The reduced issuance volume results from lower financing needs of the federal budget and its special funds, especially in connection with the measures taken by the government to address the energy crisis,” the agency said. It also canceled a sale of inflation—linked bonds planned for November.
Read More: Germany to Issue Record Federal Debt to Fund Energy Crisis Aid
The cut in planned issuance lifted bond prices slightly, driving the yield on 30-year German debt down by as much as 3 basis points. It had touched a 12-year high earlier in the session, amid a broad selloff spurred by concern central banks will keep rates high for longer.
But the immediate reaction after the release quickly faded, with Danske Bank analysts, including Piet Haines Christiansen, saying that the reduction was “ broadly in line with expectations.” Commerzbank had penciled in a cut of €25 billion.
Borrowing by Germany’s federal government has soared in recent years, initially due to increased spending to offset the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequently to help ease the burden from surging energy prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
After those crises subsided, Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who chairs the fiscally hawkish Free Democratic Party, insisted that Germany’s ruling coalition restore a constitutional limit on federal new borrowing known as the debt brake. He asked all government departments except defense to rein in spending in this year’s budget.
–With assistance from Aline Oyamada, Zoe Schneeweiss and Constantine Courcoulas.
(Updates market reaction starting in fourth paragraph)
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