This mainly includes German government bonds and, at the shorter end of the maturity spectrum, French government bonds. Furthermore, total turnover on government bond futures and options has become very concentrated on the contracts indexed on German government bonds, although there has been renewed competition from other contracts over recent months.
The risks associated with having an open position on a single contract which is larger than the underlying bonds available for delivery may have played a role. In this context, the question has arisen of whether the amount outstanding of benchmark government bonds will remain sufficient to cover benchmarking needs, particularly as public deficits and debts should be reduced further in the euro area.