The long end has waned as we grind.....>

AUSSIE BONDS: The long end has waned as we grind towards the close, with the RBA

pointing to 3x ACGB purchases a week, down from the current 4x & a likely

continuation of 1x semi purchases a week for the foreseeable. This comes on the

back of the recent tapering observed in the daily purchase ops, with the RBA

seemingly content re: the enforcement of its YCC and the functioning of the bond

market, for now. Lowe also stressed that purchases can always revert to a daily

schedule, if warranted. As an aside the Bank focused on the '25-'26 zone of the

curve in today's purchases. YM -0.5, XM -3.0. In terms of the economic

assessment, there wasn't much to shock: "it is likely that the unemployment rate

will remain above 6 per cent over the next couple of years. With many firms

delaying or cancelling wage increases, year-ended wage growth is expected to

decline to below 2 per cent, before gradually picking up again. In underlying

terms, inflation is expected to remain below 2 per cent over the next couple of

years." This came in the wake of the first weekly ABS payrolls report, which

made for grim reading, as you would expect, given the sample period.

- Elsewhere, the RBA minutes held little new info.