Holding Firmer During Shortened Session

Gilt futures have registered a fresh session high in recent trade but continue to operate in a narrow sub-50 tick range ahead of the elongated weekend. The contract has since backed off from best levels.

• That leaves futures +18 at 103.15, ~15 ticks off best levels.
• Cash gilt yields are 1.0-3.5bp lower across the curve, with bull steepening seen and 5s outperforming at the margin.
• The mixed UK data released pre-open has dominated broader macro headline flow in the time since, with the latter being very limited, partly owing to the time of the year.
• As a reminder, negative revisions in the final Q3 GDP print outweighed firmer-than-expected retail sales data, at least when it came to FI trade.
• SONIA futures are 0.5-3.5bp firmer on the day, while BoE-dated OIS maintains the early data-driven dovish move, showing ~146bp of cuts through ’24.
• A quick reminder that SONIA futures and options will close at 12:15 GMT, while gilt futures and options will close at 13:00 GMT.