Futures Tick Lower Overnight, Rinban Due

JGB futures shed 8 ticks in the final overnight trading session of last week, with the contract easing alongside some weakness in UK Gilts & U.S. Tsys

• Domestic weekend news flow was dominated by continued pushback against volatility/moves driven by excess speculation in the FX markets from Japanese Finance Minister Suzuki, top currency diplomat Kanda and BoJ Deputy Governor Wakatabe.
• Elsewhere, BoJ Governor Kuroda stood firmly behind the BoJ’s monetary easing (as did Wakatabe).
• We also saw a Nikkei interview with ruling LDP party tax chief Miyazawa, as he noted that increasing the Japanese corporate tax rate is one option to fund a defence budget that could double in size over the next few years.
• BoJ Rinban operations covering 1- to 3-, 5- to 10- & 25+-Year JGBs headline the domestic docket on Monday, with industrial production data and capacity utilisation also due.
• The presence of the Rinban operations coupled with the emergence of a seemingly steadier UK fiscal footing (given the Gilt-centric moves in markets observed in recent weeks) may support JGBs in early trade this week.