Subdued Session, Local Data Not Market Moving Today, Heavy Calendar On Monday

In the Tokyo afternoon session, JGB futures are slightly higher, +2 compared to the settlement levels, after relatively subdued dealings.

• There hasn’t been much in the way of domestic drivers to flag, outside of the previously outlined labour market and Jibun Bank PMI Mfg data, and comments from BoJ Governor Ueda.
• (Bloomberg) -- Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said the Bank of Japan’s price target is not yet in sight, tempering market speculation that the bank’s first rate hike since 2007 is just around the corner. (See link ICYMI)
• Cash tsys are dealing flat to 1bp richer in today’s Asia-Pac session after Fed Williams said in a Fireside Chat after the US market close that he doesn’t believe the Fed needs to tighten monetary policy further. He added that he expects to cut interest rates later this year.
• Cash JGBs are cheaper out to the 10-year and slightly richer beyond. The 5-year zone is the underperformer on the curve, with its yield 1.6bps higher. The benchmark 10-year yield is 1.1bp higher at 0.720% versus the Nov-Dec rally low of 0.555% and the February high of 0.772%.
• Swaps are slightly richer, with swap spreads mostly tighter.
• On Monday, the local calendar sees Capital Spending, Company Profits and Monetary Base data, along with BoJ Rinban operations covering 1-3-year and 10-25-year+ JGBs.