JGB futures are 7 ticks higher, at......>

JGB SUMMARY: JGB futures are 7 ticks higher, at 150.57 as we approach the close,

with a firmer JPY & a softer Nikkei 225 supporting prices in the afternoon

session. Price action has been relatively muted, despite Prime Minister Abe

stating that he has made no firm decision on who will be the next BoJ Governor.

We also heard from the Bank's current Governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, who reiterated

that the central bank needs to maintain its ultra-loose monetary policy stance.

- Today's Rinban operations saw the BoJ offer to buy JGBs with under 1 year to

maturity as well as JGBs with 5-10 years to maturity. The sizes were unchanged

from the prior operations, with the shorter dated leg of the operations seeing a

wider average spread on the back lower cover, and the 5-10 year bucket

experiencing a narrow average spread as the offer to cover ticked higher.

- 10-Year JGBs underperformed their longer dated counterparts in cash dealing,

with yields in the benchmark 10 year edging 0.5bp higher to last trade at

0.071%. The 4-5 year sector has experienced some modest underperformance,

potentially pointing to a degree of concession ahead of tomorrow's 5-Year

supply.