JGBs trade narrowly higher as investors await super-long 30-year auction

The Japanese government bonds traded narrowly higher Tuesday as investors wait to watch the country’s 30-year auction, scheduled to be held on April 12 by 03:45GMT.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, remained tad lower at 0.03 percent, the yield on the long-term 30-year note slipped 1/2 basis point to 0.73 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year also edged slightly lower at -0.14 percent by 04:50 GMT.

As the ultimate dealmaker, US President Donald Trump has begun hinting that “probably” a trade deal with China will happen, albeit Wall Street’s overnight tech-led gains tampered amid a late-session report that the FBI had raided the office of Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen. Also, there is some news speculation that China is studying using its currency as a weapon in the ongoing trade spat.

Lastly, Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda opined that "we’ll do our utmost to hit our price target. But we’ll also need to eventually consider kicking off a process towards policy normalization" and "I think the process of any shift (from easy policy) would be cautious and gradual, as with US and European central banks".

Meanwhile, the Nikkei 225 index traded 0.73 percent higher at 21,836.00 by 04:50 GMT, while at 04:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly JPY Strength Index remained neutral at -44.99 (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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