Futures A Little Lower Overnight

JGB futures shed 10 ticks overnight, as the continued cheapening of the U.S. Tsy complex applied pressure to the contract. The contract finished overnight trade a little above session lows after breaking through its February trough (based on a continuation chart). U.S. Tsy futures have subsequently stabilised during early Asia trade. Focus will fall on 10-Year JGB yield gyrations after the crossing of the 0.23% mark triggered BoJ intervention via fixed rate operations back in February (the benchmark finished Tuesday trade at 0.217%).

• Local FX matters continue to garner more attention, with the latest run higher in USD/JPY resulting in Japanese Finance Minister Suzuki suggesting that recent FX market moves are “a bit large.” Note that such rhetoric doesn’t point to imminent government intervention when it comes to buying JPY, with the recent JPY weakness largely driven by fundamentals. Suzuki also noted that currency market stability is important, with rapid moves deemed undesirable. Elsewhere, he played down speculation surrounding the potential for additional fiscal stimulus at this time, although subsequent press reports have suggested that PM Kishida may order the compilation of such a package by the end of March.
• BoJ Rinban operations covering 1- to 10-Year JGBs headline the local docket today, which may promote some steepening of the curve in early Tokyo trade. Final machine tool orders data for Feb will hit later in the day, with the final leading and coincident index prints for January also due.