(Bloomberg) — An auction of 12-year Australian government bonds drew the weakest demand in about six years amid higher domestic corporate issuances and a period of outperformance.
The bid-to-cover ratio — a key gauge of interest — at the auction of A$1.2 billion ($775 million) worth of bonds maturing in April 2037 was 1.98 on Tuesday, according to the Australian Office of Financial Management. That was the lowest since July 2019 for notes with residual maturities of 10 to 12 years, according to Bloomberg calculations.
The weak demand comes as Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ING Groep NV and BPCE SA also tapped Australian markets on Tuesday. Recent gains in sovereign bonds also weighed on the sale.
Australia’s financial year is also coming to an end after a heavy year of issuance so dealers may also be stepping back as they close their books, said Kit Lowe, an analyst at InTouch Capital Markets Pte. Ltd. in Sydney.
As a sale of 2031 notes due later this week is smaller than Tuesday’s auction on a risk-adjusted basis, “I would expect demand to recover,” said Lowe.
The April 2037 note forms part of Australia’s 10-year bond futures basket, the main avenue for investors to trade the nation’s benchmark debt.
The cash notes have outperformed peers this quarter amid fiscal issues in the US and a dovish tilt from the Reserve Bank of Australia, as it continues to cut interest rates. The spread between benchmark 10-year bond and its Treasury counterpart fell to the lowest since January on Tuesday.
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