FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - German government bonds continued their losses from Friday on Monday. By the afternoon, the benchmark Euro-Bund futures contract had fallen by 0.26 percent to 131.81 points. At the same time, the yield on ten-year Bunds rose to 2.44 percent. Yields rose in all major eurozone countries.

Economic data was mixed at the start of the week. While German industry noticeably expanded its production in February, exports fell significantly in the same month. The Sentix Institute's economic barometer continued to brighten in April. No important economic data was published in the USA in the afternoon.

Against the backdrop of the recent improvement in production data, economists expressed optimism. "With the increase in production in February, the chance that the German economy will not shrink again in the first quarter has increased," commented analyst Ralph Solveen from Commerzbank. In the final quarter of 2023, German economic output fell by 0.3%, as it did in the year as a whole.

One of the main events this week is the interest rate decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday. No rate change is initially expected. However, there could be hints as to whether the first interest rate cut could take place soon. In the USA, the focus is on inflation data, which will be published on Wednesday. The figures are of great importance for the interest rate course of the US central bank, the Fed./jsl/he