Yield spread using Bond futures

Discussion in 'Financial Futures' started by NAVEEVIa, Aug 3, 2009.

  1. NAVEEVIa

    NAVEEVIa

    Hi Martinghoul,
    Did some research on basis & calcualted that for OTR US bonds.
    The idea here is simple , someone trading curve using futures should be aware that futures maybe out of sync with cash, if we track the changes in gross basis for OTR bonds with futures , we can atleast have a warning signal that futures & cash are not in sync.

    For calculating gross basis, following was assumed
    Settlement day- today
    gross basis= cash minus futures(LTP)*Conversion factor

    This came as following for 2,5 & 10 OTR & futures
    2yr 0.73
    5yr 1.06
    10yr 3.25

    This is in decimal for 100 par value bond.

    Now my question is: Is the idea of tracking basis to gauge whether cash & futures are in line sound enough?

    Thanks & Regards
    Naveen
     
    #21     Aug 12, 2009
  2. It's certainly sound... What you could do is plot a time series of the gross basis for the current contract (as well as a few older ones), to get a sense of the dynamic of the basis (e.g. any particular periods when basis mis-behaves should stand out). Be careful to use the right OTR bond and conversion factors.
     
    #22     Aug 12, 2009
  3. NAVEEVIa

    NAVEEVIa

    Can some one guide me how to get intraday US on the run Yield spreads data. I have looked at following options but things seem muddy at best

    1 . Bloomberg has a ticker GGR for generic rates as per my chat with help it is OTR yield & one can get intraday data.
    2. Bloomberg also has ticker USYC2y5y Index , desciption says selling OTR 2s & buying OTR 5s.

    The data currently i follow is from BG Cantor , where based on last trade & yesterdays settlement it shows the change in yields. e.g in yield terms 2s closed at 1.098 on friday , currently at 1.074.

    Basically i want to 1 min value of 2-5s, 2-10s OTR yield spread & then calculate the net change from yetesrdays representative price whther close or settlement( as in BG cantor) & see whether these changes have any persistence i.e if 2-5s is steppening does the steepening persist for the session.

    Any suggestions
     
    #23     Aug 24, 2009
  4. Why don't you construct a CIX by using CT2 Govt and CT5 Govt?

    Formula for 2s5s should look something like this:
    YIELD[CT5 Govt] - YIELD[CT2 Govt]

    If you want to control where the quotes for these tickers come from, you can use PCS to specify particular sources.
     
    #24     Aug 24, 2009
  5. Good thread! Keep it going I say!

    I have been asked about buying options on Canadian short term interest rates to protect against up moves? Is there an OTC market for this?
     
    #25     Aug 24, 2009
  6. There's most definitely an OTC mkt, but there's also the options on exchange-traded BAX (Bankers Acceptance) futures (traded on the Montreal exchange). Liquidity ain't great, to put it mildly, but I'm sure you should be able to get a price if you ask arnd. For example, there's some open interest in Mar10 99.125 puts.

    It all depends on the time horizon of what you're trying to achieve...
     
    #26     Aug 25, 2009
  7. NAVEEVIa

    NAVEEVIa

    Have been following basis for both cash OTR & CTD bonds direction & magnitude of change is very close for ZT & ZF but for ZN the variation is more this is yesterdays chart ZN CTD & Cash OTR basis in dollars for 1 contract.
    Next chart is US OTR yield spread( in %) with ZT ZF spread in ratio 1-1 in dollars overlaid on it.
    By using ratio 1-1 we are actually giving more weight to ZF, this very closely follows 2-5s spread, i was thinking of doing something similar with2-10s, giving more weight than DVO1 based to ZN.
    What do you guys say?
    BTW anyone here daytrade yield spreads(2-5s, 2-10s) like this either thru cash or futures, if yes please shre your views.
     
    #27     Aug 25, 2009
  8. NAVEEVIa

    NAVEEVIa

    ZN basis chart
     
    #28     Aug 25, 2009
  9. I hope someone else responds and offers some insight, whether same or different. Otherwise, this is uncomfortably one-sided...

    Naveen, let's wait and see if someone else says anything. Then I can tell you what I see.
     
    #29     Aug 25, 2009
  10. NAVEEVIa

    NAVEEVIa

    Ok, I will wait for other responses, was also wondering does anyone use technical analysis like support/resistance, trend, breakout when trading yield spreads because they look & behave like outright, maybe lot more trendier than many equity futures.
     
    #30     Aug 25, 2009