JGBs flat as trade war tensions continue to mount, albeit at softer pace

The Japanese government bonds remained flat during Asian session Monday as trade war tensions continued to hover around investors’ sentiments, albeit at a softer pace than at the start of last week. Also, investors remained side-lined in any major trade activity amid a muted session that witnessed data of little economic significance.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, hovered around 0.02 percent, the yield on the long-term 30-year note also remained flat at 0.74 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year too traded steady at -0.15 percent by 04:30 GMT.

Escalating global tensions continued to dominate the trade spectrum after President Trump’s announcement of trade tariffs -- China urged the United States on Friday to "pull back from the brink" as Trump's plans for tariffs on up to USD60 billion in Chinese goods moved the world's two largest economies closer to a trade war. U.S. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Thursday that will target up to USD60 billion of Chinese products with tariffs, but only after a 30-day consultation period that starts once a list of goods is published.

Meanwhile, the Nikkei 225 index fell 0.33 percent to trade at 20,549.00 by 04:30 GMT, while at 04:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly JPY Strength Index remained highly bullish at 139.26 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex

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