LONDON: Euro zone government bond yields edged higher on Monday, showing little initial reaction to the attempted assassination of US presidential candidate Donald Trump over the weekend.

The European Central Bank meets later this week but is not expected to make any change to monetary policy.

German 10-year bond yield, the benchmark for the wider euro zone, was up 2.5 basis points at 2.495%.

The two-year yield, which is more sensitive to shifts in expectations of ECB policy, was up 1 bp at 2.83%.

“With only marginal macro changes, there is no need for the ECB to change its policy stance on Thursday. In fact, it seems as if a majority at the ECB is broadly fine with current market expectations of one to two more rate cuts this year,” ING rates strategist Carsten Brzeski said.

The derivatives market currently shows traders expect at least one more rate cut from the ECB, with a possibility of another before year-end.

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Italy’s 10-year yield rose 2.5 bps to 3.82%, leaving the premium over German Bund yields 1.6 bps narrower at 129 bps.

French 10-year yields were steady at 3.161%, having fallen in six out of the last 10 sessions, as investor nerves over the political backdrop in the country have subsided since an election last week resulted in a hung parliament.