Australian bonds remain flat in muted trading session ahead of RBA’s March meeting minutes

Australian government bonds remained flat during Asian trading session Monday amid a muted day that witnessed data of little economic significance as investors wait to watch the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) March monetary policy meeting minutes, scheduled to be released on March 19 by 00:30GMT which shall provide further direction to the debt market.

The yield on Australia’s benchmark 10-year note, which moves inversely to its price, traded flat at 1.980 percent, the yield on the long-term 30-year bond hovered around 2.610 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year traded tad higher at 1.590 percent by 03:50GMT.

Global risk appetite ended on a relatively positive note last Friday, with global equities at a five-month high, despite disappointing US economic data and the lingering concerns about Brexit, OCBC Treasury Research reported in its daily outlook report.

Asian markets may open firmer this morning but investors are likely to tread water today, awaiting the Fed’s policy decision on Wednesday, as well as a slew of other central bank meetings including BoT, BSP, CBC, BoE and BI later this week, the report added.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 index traded -0.52 percent lower at 6,184.50 by 03:55GMT, while at 03:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly AUD Strength Index remained neutral at -9.64 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex