JGB futures registered fresh session highs.....>

JGBS: JGB futures registered fresh session highs in the afternoon, aided by

another solid round of upsized JGB supply, coming via the 5-Year variety.

Contract last +5 after pulling back from best levels, with the curve flattening.

5s unwound their underperformance post-auction, swaps mostly wider vs. JGBS.

- In terms of 5-Year supply specifics, there was an uptick in the cover ratio &

steady tail width vs. prev. auction (which was of smaller size). The low price

topped dealer exp. It looks like entry points via ASW & swap spreads may have

supported takedown, along with a backstop from the BoJ's active YCC policy.

- Elsewhere, the BoJ downgraded its econ assessment across all 9 Japanese

regions, while BoJ Governor Kuroda's latest comments offered nothing new.

- Foreigners remained net sellers of Japanese bonds in the most recent week,

registering a 2nd consecutive week of net sales, although the rate of the

shedding slowed (to Y746.5bn). They have been net sellers 4 of the last 5 weeks.

- COVID-19 testing has picked up in Tokyo resulting in a jump in the number of

new cases declared today, with the same touted for tomorrow.

- 1-3, 5-10 & 25+ Year BoJ Rinban ops headline locally on Friday.