Euro zone bonds hold steady before key U.S. jobs report

Euro zone bond yields were little changed on Friday as investors waited for U.S. employment and wage data for March, which will help guide the Federal Reserve's decision on when to cut interest rates. ** Germany's 10-year bond yield, the benchmark for the bloc, was last down 1 basis point (bp) at 2.346%. ** Germany's two-year bond yield, which is sensitive to European Central Bank interest rate expectations, was last down 2 bps at 2.835%.

Euro zone bond yields were little changed on Friday as investors waited for U.S. employment and wage data for March, which will help guide the Federal Reserve's decision on when to cut interest rates.

** Germany's 10-year bond yield, the benchmark for the bloc, was last down 1 basis point (bp) at 2.346%. It has risen 5 bps across the week. ** Bond yields are down sharply from late October, yet they have ticked higher since January as the U.S. economy has remained resilient, making central bankers wary of deep rate cuts. ** Data due at 1230 GMT is expected to show the U.S. economy added 200,000 jobs in March, down from 275,000 in February. Figures on Thursday showed U.S. weekly jobless claims rose more than expected last week. ** Italy's 10-year bond yield was unchanged from Thursday, trading around 3.717%. The spread over Germany's 10-year yield stood at 135 bps, up from a more than two-year low of 115 bps in March. ** Germany's two-year bond yield, which is sensitive to European Central Bank interest rate expectations, was last down 2 bps at 2.835%.

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