JGBs remain tad lower in muted trading week ahead of Q1 GDP data

Japanese government bonds remained tad lower on the first trading day of the week Monday as investors remained sidelined in a muted trading week ahead of the country’s first quarter 2018 gross domestic product (GDP) data, scheduled to be released by end of this week which shall add further direction to the debt market.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year JGB note, which moves inversely to its price, traded tad higher at 0.04 percent, the yield on the long-term 30-year note rose nearly 1 basis point to 0.72 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year remained 1/2 basis point higher at -0.13 percent by 04:40GMT.

The government of Japan, in a report released off late, left its assessment of the economy unchanged in May. The government report said that for the fifth consecutive month, Japan’s economy was recovering modestly despite the fact that the economy registered negative growth in the first quarter of this year.

For the near term, the government maintained its outlook on the economy in a “recovery” mode as it said that the economy was supported by improvements in the labor markets and rising income conditions alongside the government efforts on fiscal spending.

U.S. Treasury yields rose Friday after a solid nonfarm payrolls report helped to cement expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later this month and later this year. This helped trim a weekly decline in government bond yields after trade conflict fears and eurozone jitters stoked demand for haven assets.

Meanwhile, the Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.38 percent to 22,478.50 by 04:50 GMT, while at 05:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly JPY Strength Index remained highly bearish at -133.40 (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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