Futures Nudge Higher During Ueda Press Conference, No Real Hurry To Normalise Detected

JGB futures edged higher during the early rounds of the overnight session, testing 146.50, before backing off from best levels to trade around 146.45, last +25 or so vs. settlement levels and within touching distance of the early December high (146.52).

• 10-Year JGB yields stabilise around 0.640%, just above their Tokyo session low.
• A quick recap of some of the comments provided by BoJ Governor Ueda, which pointed to no imminent rush from the BoJ re: policy normalisation, facilitating the uptick in JGB futures.
• Ueda noted positive sentiment surrounding wages and a move higher in the odds of the BoJ attaining its 2% CPI goal. Any moves around those comments were then countered as he reiterated that the BoJ remains ready to ease further, without hesitation, if necessary.
• Ueda played down the need to act purely on the back of U.S. Fed actions, along with an apparent lack of worry re: the impact of negative rates on the banking sector (at least at this current moment in time).
• BBG headlines suggested that BoJ Governor Ueda stated that there is no specific discussion amongst the BoJ board re: avoiding normalisation at the March meeting.
• That was before wider wires noted that the comment came in the wake of questions surrounding the potential for policy change around the end of the fiscal year/impact on corporate earnings & projections, with his response more focused on that, as opposed to providing a potential horizon re: NIRP exit/policy tweaks.
• Ueda subsequently played down the likelihood of flagging a rate hike come the end of the BoJ’s January meeting, with a limited amount of data due between now and then.
• Ueda then went on to point to the summary of opinions of the recently concluded meeting (due for release on 27 December) when asked about discussions on ending NIRP.