OPTIONS: Expiries for Nov5 NY cut 1000ET (Source DTCC)

Gilt Basis trades:

20 minutes ago:

• G Z5 1.46k at 90.48.

Now:

• G Z5 1.46k at 90.54.

• With the 13 October deadline to submit the Budget to parliament almost certain to be missed we look at when the AFT has published its year-ahead funding plans in recent years.
• France's AFT (Agence France Tresor) normally publishes its year-ahead "funding situation" which includes an outline for issuance volumes in September. For reference between 2016-2023 it was published between 22-28 September.
• Last year, despite the political uncertainty, the government did still present a budget to parliament on 9 October - meeting the 70 day timeline required for parliament to deliberate.
• The AFT then published its 2025 provisional plans on 10 October - the day after the budget was submitted to parliament.
• In the absence of anything else, the AFT may choose to use broadly unchanged numbers from 2025 for the deficit size. Together with an extra E10-11bln of MT/IL debt due to mature in 2026, we think that expectations will be for the 2026 gross issuance plan to be around E310-315bln. This follows E300bln in 2025, E285bln in 2024, E270bln in 2023 and E260bln in 2022.
• The AFT may chose to publish this initial estimate at any time - it may decide that the political turmoil won't lead to a definitive outcome any time soon so publish imminently, or may leave until later this year. There is no real precedent here.
• Note that the more detailed update has been published later in the last couple of years: on 19 December in 2024, 13 December in 2023, 7 December in 2022, 10 December in 2021 and 9 December in 2020.

• On the commodity front, a bull cycle in Gold remains in play and today’s fresh cycle high, reinforces current conditions. This maintains the bullish price sequence of higher highs and higher lows and note too that corrections, when they do occur, are shallow. Furthermore, momentum studies highlight a condition known as momentum drag - where momentum studies remain in overbought territory and move sideways. This condition reinforces the current trend direction. Sights are on $3987.3 next, a 2.236 projection of the May 15 - Jun 16 - 30 price swing. Support to watch lies at $3715.0, the 20-day EMA.

• In the oil space, WTI futures remain in a bear-mode condition. Last week’s sell-off resulted in a move through key support and the bear trigger at $60.85, the Aug 13 low. Clearance of this level strengthens a bearish theme and paves the way for an extension towards $57.50, the May 30 low. Initial firm resistance has been defined at $66.42, the Sep 29 high. Clearance of this level would highlight a reversal.