Futures went out just shy of best levels,......>

JGBS: Futures went out just shy of best levels, +26 ticks, with the belly of the

curve playing catch up in afternoon trade after the twist flattening seen in the

morning gave way to outperformance in the belly (post-Rinban details). Caution

re: coronavirus supported, while the latest round of commentary from senior

gov't ministers did little for price action. BoJ Gov. Kuroda's most recent round

of comments saw him tip his hat to the potential for the BoJ adopting a shorter

yield target than the current 10-Year, but somewhere down the line in terms of

time horizon & lacked any real specifics. He also reiterated the Bank's ability

to act to fight the effects of the coronavirus if needed.

- CPI data was in line with exp. flash PMIs were soft across the board.

- The BoJ left the size of its 1-10 Year JGB purchases unchanged in today's

Rinban operations, with spreads tightening and offer/cover ratios moderating.

Breakdown of ops were as follows:

- 1-3 Year: Cover 4.05x (prev. 4.27x), Average Spread -0.006 (prev. 0.003)

- 3-5 Year: Cover 3.02x (prev. 3.27x), Average Spread -0.008 (prev. 0.006)

- 5-10 Year: Cover 2.33x (prev. 3.52x), Average Spread -0.0014 (prev. 0.010)