New Zealand bonds flat at close ahead of GDT price auction, RBNZ’s non-event monetary policy meeting

New Zealand bonds closed flat on Monday as investors wait to watch the country’s GlobalDairyTrade (GDT) price auction and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s (RBNZ) monetary policy meeting, which will most likely be non-eventful, scheduled to be held on August 7 and August 8 respectively.

At the time of closing, the yield on the benchmark 10-year note, which moves inversely to its price, slipped 1/2 basis point to 2.79 percent, the yield on the long-term 20-year note hovered around 3.11 percent while the yield on short-term 2-year also closed nearly flat at 1.81 percent.

The RBNZ will probably repeat that it expects to keep the Overnight Cash Rate (OCR) at its current low level for a long while. The OCR forecast will likely be unchanged, or perhaps could be shifted a tiny smidgen lower, Westpac Research reported.

Asian markets may trade sideways today as investors digest the US’ labour market report from Friday as well as the latest US-Sino trade developments, including China’s reserve requirement measure. Wall Street closed higher on Friday, capping five weeks of gains while the 10-year UST bond yield remained shy of the 3 percent handle after a brief test earlier last week. Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia froze diplomatic, trade and investments with Canada, OCBC Treasury Research reported.

Meanwhile, the NZX 50 index closed 0.44 percent higher at 8,903.13, while at 06:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly NZD Strength Index remained neutral at -70.24 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex