A$ Issuance Eyed

Aussie bonds generally benefitted from a solid showing at the first ACGB auction of calendar '21, although the pricing of A$2.5bn of TCV's new Nov '25 benchmark line triggered hedging related flows in YMH1 and pressure in that zone of the curve during the Sydney morning. YM unch., XM +1.0 at the close, while cash trade saw some light outperformance for the 10- to 12-Year sector of the curve.

• Elsewhere on the issuance front, NSWTC noted that it will conduct a A$500mn tap of its Mar '28 line on Thursday, while Westpac mandated for 10NC5 fixed and/or floating A$ issuance.
• Local data releases saw Westpac's monthly consumer confidence reading slip by 4.5%, with the survey collators noting that "since the last survey in the second week of December we have seen domestic border closures; the emergence of Covid clusters in some states; and the sharp upswing in Covid cases overseas, notably the US and the UK. This result compares to the 15% fall that was registered over July and August last year as the nation was shocked by Victoria's severe second wave and associated hard lockdown." The headline metric still sits comfortably above the 100 marker.
• The monthly labour market report headlines the Australian docket on Thursday.