the way for elections in February, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government was ousted earlier this month. Yields on Germany’s 10-year Bunds were up by 5 basis points at 1:36 p.m. in London, reaching 2.384% — their highest level in a month. Elsewhere, investors are monitoring economic data out of China, where official figures showed industrial profits in the world’s second biggest economy contracted for the fourth consecutive month in November. The data print came a day after the World Bank raised its growth forecasts for China in 2024 and 2025, but warned that the country’s economy would remain under pressure, given muted business confidence and ongoing uncertainty in the troubled Chinese property sector. Markets were in mixed territory overnight in Asia, as traders reacted to the latest Chinese data print, as well as recent inflation numbers out of Japan. In an update on Friday, official figures showed core inflation in the city of Tokyo was at 3% in November, up from 2.6% in October. Back in Europe, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier dissolved the country’s parliament on Friday to pave the way for elections in February, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government was ousted earlier this month. Yields on Germany’s 10-year Bunds were up by 5 basis points at 1:36 p.m. in London, reaching 2.384% — their highest level in a month.