NZGBS: Closed Richer Ahead Of Easter Weekend Despite A Cheapening In US Tsys

NZGBs closed 3bps richer and just off the session's best levels. This came despite cash US tsys cheapening 1-4bps in today’s Asia-Pac session following aftermarket comments from the Federal Reserve Governor Waller.

• Fed Waller said the Fed should wait a "couple months" to get a better understanding of the trajectory of inflation, but he still expects the central bank to begin reducing the target range for the federal funds rate this year. (See MNI link)
• The move away from session cheaps was likely aided by decent demand metrics at today’s weekly supply. Bid cover ratios printed 2.25x to 2.92x for the Apr-29 and May-34 lines respectively.
• ANZ Business Confidence lost 11.8 points from a month earlier to 22.9 in March.
• (Bloomberg) -- NZ appointed Carl Hansen and Prasanna Gai to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says in an emailed statement. (See link)
• Swap rates closed 2-5bps lower, with the 2s10s curve steeper.
• RBNZ dated OIS pricing closed 2-3bps softer for meetings beyond May. A cumulative 71bps of easing is priced by year-end.
• The local market is closed until next Tuesday for the Easter long weekend.
• Later today, the US calendar sees Weekly Claims, GDP, PCE, PMI and UofM Sentiment.