LONDON, August 15 (IFR) - There are quiet days and then there are quiet days. With Ramadan, the summer break, Assumption Day in Continental Europe and post-Olympics lethargy in London, Wednesday is a strong contender for the quietest day of the year.
However, there was enough liquidity in the emerging credit markets to demonstrate the inherent contradictions of the market if nothing else: spread widening despite continued inflows and increased buying by real money accounts.
The iTraxx SovX CEEMEA was 3.12bp wider at 245bp-247bp at 11:17 GMT.
Most of the inflows centred on Russia again, but the market was about 5-10 basis points softer, one trader said. The Russian sovereign was down a quarter of a point in the middle part of the curve. Gazprom's 22s typified the nature of the softening amongst quasi sovereigns, and was quoted at 103.75 compared with 104 at the open.
"We are still seeing inflows in hard currencies, but to a lesser extent - the market is not really rallying," one trader said. This could be attributed to the baleful influence of US Treasuries, which have shed 15 basis points, he said, and also to supply overhang from all the issuance in the recent past, he added.
Meanwhile, there was some genuinely groundbreaking new issuance earlier this week, when the Republic of Angola became the latest African nation to issue a debut bond, with a 7% 2019 note raising USD1bn through a Reg S private placement, sources told IFR.
The issuance was managed by Russian bank VTB Capital, and comes ahead of a planned Eurobond, one banking source not involved in the placement said.
Investors have been keen to get exposure to Angola for some time, and this was reflected in the aftermarket, with bonds quoted a whopping 4.5 points up from their par issue price, a trader said.
Meanwhile, bankers and traders covering the Middle East expect a host of quasi sovereigns to provide new issuance once the market reopens in September.
Various state-owned infrastructure firms, notably in Saudi Arabia, are considering turning to debt capital markets to fund their investment needs, one trader operating in the region said.
"Companies in Saudi Arabia are going to spend about USD500bn in the next decade," the trader said. "The country is actively trying to diversify away from oil - and the government is under pressure to spend more money to keep the protests down."
They are now considering making use of good market conditions to borrow money at low yields, he added.
There are also fears that a prolonged recession or depression in the eurozone would weigh on oil prices, potentially making future funding more expensive, one banker covering the region said.
However, there was enough liquidity in the emerging credit markets to demonstrate the inherent contradictions of the market if nothing else: spread widening despite continued inflows and increased buying by real money accounts.
The iTraxx SovX CEEMEA was 3.12bp wider at 245bp-247bp at 11:17 GMT.
Most of the inflows centred on Russia again, but the market was about 5-10 basis points softer, one trader said. The Russian sovereign was down a quarter of a point in the middle part of the curve. Gazprom's 22s typified the nature of the softening amongst quasi sovereigns, and was quoted at 103.75 compared with 104 at the open.
"We are still seeing inflows in hard currencies, but to a lesser extent - the market is not really rallying," one trader said. This could be attributed to the baleful influence of US Treasuries, which have shed 15 basis points, he said, and also to supply overhang from all the issuance in the recent past, he added.
Meanwhile, there was some genuinely groundbreaking new issuance earlier this week, when the Republic of Angola became the latest African nation to issue a debut bond, with a 7% 2019 note raising USD1bn through a Reg S private placement, sources told IFR.
The issuance was managed by Russian bank VTB Capital, and comes ahead of a planned Eurobond, one banking source not involved in the placement said.
Investors have been keen to get exposure to Angola for some time, and this was reflected in the aftermarket, with bonds quoted a whopping 4.5 points up from their par issue price, a trader said.
Meanwhile, bankers and traders covering the Middle East expect a host of quasi sovereigns to provide new issuance once the market reopens in September.
Various state-owned infrastructure firms, notably in Saudi Arabia, are considering turning to debt capital markets to fund their investment needs, one trader operating in the region said.
"Companies in Saudi Arabia are going to spend about USD500bn in the next decade," the trader said. "The country is actively trying to diversify away from oil - and the government is under pressure to spend more money to keep the protests down."
They are now considering making use of good market conditions to borrow money at low yields, he added.
There are also fears that a prolonged recession or depression in the eurozone would weigh on oil prices, potentially making future funding more expensive, one banker covering the region said.
