Govt bonds lower in London trade ahead of Greenspan testimony

European government bonds pushed lower ahead of the much-awaited testimony by Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan before a US Senate Committee later today, which could provide further clues about the state of the US economy and US interest rates, dealers said.

Analysts expect Greenspan to project a more cautiously optimistic tone in his address due to start at 3pm Irish time, as rumours suggest that he felt that his Jan 11 speech was interpreted too negatively.