JGBs remain range-bound amid global trade tensions; investors shrug-off dovish BoJ June Summary of Opinions

The Japanese 10-year government bonds remained range-bound during Asian session Monday amid a slew of global trade tensions initiated by the United States, in a bid to impose trade tariffs across all trading partners, mainly the EU and China. Also, invetsors have largely shrugged-off the dovish tone of the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) Summary of Opinions for the June monetary policy meeting.

The yield on Japan’s benchmark 10-year bond, which moves inversely to its price, hovered around 0.03 percent, the yield on the long-term 30-year remained tad higher at 0.71 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year traded flat at -0.13 percent by 05:00 GMT.

The uncertainty over a trade war, and the tit-for-tat dispute between the two countries, sent markets around the globe on a roller-coaster ride last week. Still, reports suggested that some White House officials were trying to restart talks with China to avoid a full-blown trade war.

Some board members said the central bank needs to keep monetary easing from severely distorting economic and financial conditions, and to make the current policy sustainable.

With inflation well below the BoJ’s 2 percent target despite five years of stimulus, one member said the central bank must make efforts to improve communication with the public on its commitment to meet the price stability goal, the summary showed.

Meanwhile, the Nikkei 225 index traded 0.52 percent lower at 22,399.76 by 05:10 GMT, while at 05:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly JPY Strength Index remained neutral at -127.64 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex