JGBs nearly flat ahead of June household spending, Q2 GDP data

The Japanese government bonds remained nearly flat Monday as investors wait to watch the country’s household spending for the month of June and the second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP), scheduled to be released today and on August 9 by 23:30GMT and 23:50GMT respectively.

The yield on Japan’s benchmark 10-year bond, which moves inversely to its price, hovered around 0.10 percent, the yield on the long-term 30-year flat at 0.84 percent while the yield on short-term 2-year traded tad lower at -0.11 percent by 05:15GMT.

"We forecast June real household spending (per household) to fall by 1.6 percent y/y and rise by 1.9 percent m/m. Looking at household consumption-related statistics released thus far, June department store sales rose by 5.3 percent m/m, the strongest growth since 2015, but we need to take into account the impact of clearance sales being brought forward (seasonal adjustments by Nomura)," FXStreet reported, citing analysts at Nomura.

"We expect the first preliminary GDP estimates for Q2 2018 to show moderate growth, but we see downside risks to overseas demand", the report added.

Meanwhile, the Nikkei 225 index slid 0/07 percent to 22,509.00 at 05:20GMT, while at 05:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly JPY Strength Index remained highly bullish at 137.31 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex