Positive skew returns to credit indices

If one were to look at the week-on-week change of the main credit indices, it would be perfectly understandable to assume that it was another uneventful few days in the markets. The Markit iTraxx Europe was trading at 61.5bp on December 18, just 1.5bp wider than the previous week. The Markit CDX.NA.IG was 3bp tighter at 66bp over the same period.