Futures Halt The Slide, Just

JGB futures added 1 tick on Wednesday, halting the longest stretch of daily losses since '03 in the process, with some swap spread widening and modest cheapening evident across most of the JGB curve, although the super-long end saw some incremental richening into the close, finishing a little firmer on the day.

• Local PPI data met broader market expectations, with the rate of the Y/Y decline slowing in January.
• Comments from BoJ's Nakamura did little to alter the view re: the broader monetary policy review which is ongoing at present, as he reaffirmed the notion that the current easing framework is "working appropriately," while noting that he would like to make adjustments to the scheme which promote sustainability.
• On the broader COVID front Japanese PM Suga noted that vaccinations are set to start from the middle of next week. Elsewhere, local press reports suggested that the Japanese government is planning to keep the state of emergency that is in place across 10 prefectures in play, despite previous reports pointing to a potential rollback of restrictions across some areas come the end of this week.
• Japan will observe a national holiday on Thursday.