伦敦奥运影响英国国债拍卖

As London braces for feared transport congestion when the Olympic Games start this month, the disruption looks set to hit an unexpected victim: the government bond market.

本月奥运在即，伦敦正在准备迎接可怕的交通堵塞。交通堵塞可能会带来一个意想不到的“受害者：英国国债市常

The UK Treasury has called off its weekly gilt auctions for a four-week period, because it is afraid that too many bond traders will be working from home – or not at all – during the -Olympics.

由于担忧奥运期间有太多债券交易员在家工作甚至根本不工作，英国财政部已取消了为期四周的周度国债拍卖。

With many of the largest banks – which make up the elite Gilt-Edged Market Makers Association exclusively allowed to buy securities directly from the Debt Management Office – dotted along the transport routes to and from the main Olympic site, many employers are making arrangements for staff to work from home.

英国国债做市商协会(Gilt-Edged Market Makers Association)拥有直接从英国债务管理办公室(DMO)购买证券的排他性权力。该协会的诸多大型成员银行都位于往来奥运场馆的交通线上，其中很多银行都安排员工奥运期间在家里工作。

The DMO confirmed that the prospect of so few gilts traders being at their desks with trading screens switched on had caused it to take the unusual step of rescheduling auctions.

DMO证实，由于届时进入场内坐在交易台前打开电脑屏幕交易的国债交易员可能寥寥无几，该办公室已被迫采取非常规举措，对拍卖日程做出调整。

Such thin staffing raises the prospect of a “sloppy auction that could force the Exchequer to pay more to borrow. “Why take operational risk when you don’t have to? the DMO said.

交易员过少可能导致拍卖活动“低迷，抬高英国财政部的举债成本。DMO表示：“为什么要冒这种毫无必要的操作风险呢？

The absence of new gilts auctions may have a serious knock-on effect, economists said.

经济学家表示，英国国债拍卖暂停可能引起严重的连锁反应。

If, as expected, the Bank of England gives the go-ahead this week for another round of gilts purchases to help boost the economy, it may have to slow these down because of the Olympic effect.

如果说像外界预期的那样，英国央行(Bank of England)本周准许实施新一轮国债购买计划会对英国经济起到提振作用，那么由于奥运的原因，这一努力的进程可能不得不放慢。

Buying up gilts in a market where no new securities are being issued could distort interest rates in unpredictable ways, economists warned.

经济学家警告称，在没有新债发行的市场购买国债可能会以不可预知的方式扭曲利率。

While the regular calendar of gilts auctions shows sales of government securities nearly every week, and sometimes more than once a week, there are none scheduled for the period between July 19 and August 16. However, there is very heavy issuance immediately before and after those dates.

根据英国国债拍卖的常规日程，几乎每周都会有国债发售活动，有时甚至一周不止一次。但在7月19日到8月16日这段期间，却没有安排任何拍卖活动。不过，在这段期间的前后都会有规模很大的国债发售。

The Olympics open on July 27 and close on August 12.

伦敦奥运会将于7月27日开幕，于8月12日闭幕。

“It’s a ‘bums on seats’ issue, said an economist at one of the UK’s largest banks which, like many of its counterparts, is based at Canary Wharf, London’s second financial district.

英国一家大银行的一位经济学家表示：“没办法，看比赛的人太多。与很多英国银行一样，这位经济学家所在的银行也位于伦敦第二大金融区“金丝雀码头(Canary Wharf)。

The station at Canary Wharf is a key Olympics hub on the Jubilee underground line, and has been designated as likely to be “exceptionally busy during the games.

金丝雀码头站是伦敦地铁银禧线(Jubilee Line)在奥运期间的一个关键枢纽，届时很可能会“异常繁忙。