JGB futures last trade 1 tick softer at........>

JGBS: JGB futures last trade 1 tick softer at 150.54, recovering from the early

session lows, in spite of the Nikkei 225 trading higher & the US-10 Year yield

consolidating above 3.00%.

- The belly of the curve outperformed the short & long end for the bulk of the

session, with some purer steepening flow noted in the early part of the

afternoon session.

- Fitch affirmed Japan's A rating, while Japanese PM Abe stated that he wasn't

considering a snap election, a day after one of his party members said it was

one option open to the party in lieu of Abe's approval ratings slump, although

neither piece of news flow had a pronounced effect on the space.

- Swaps were running tighter in the main, with payer flows noted in the long

end.

- Traders await Friday's BoJ MonPol decision & the BoJ's JGB purchasing plan for

May in front of next week's Golden Week holiday.