JAPAN DATA: Feb PPI Below Forecasts, But Import Y/Y Pace Strongest Since 2024

In Tokyo morning trade, JGB futures are weaker, -33 compared to settlement levels.

• MNI BRIEF: JAPAN - Sanae Takaichi's LDP wins supermajority in Japan election - Financial Times - Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has won a stunning landslide in Japan's snap general election, gaining her governing Liberal Democratic Party a supermajority in parliament's lower house.
• Japan Dec labour earnings data was weaker than forecast, but positive revisions to Nov, helped offset this headline disappointment. Nominal earnings rose 2.4% y/y, (versus 3.2% forecast), but Nov was revised up to 1.7% versus an initial reported gain of 0.5%. Real earnings were -0.1%y/y against a 0.8% forecast and revised Nov fall of -1.6% (originally reported as -2.8%). Bonus payments rose 2.6%y/y, after a -1.5% fall in Nov, likely helping the headline result.
• Cash US tsys are 1-2bps cheaper in today's Asia-Pac session as risk sentiment continues to rebound from Thursday’s rout. US tsys finished Friday with a modest bear-flattener following a calmer session.
• Cash JGBs are 1-5bps cheaper across benchmarks, with the futures-linked 7-year leading. The benchmark 10-year yield is 4.2bps higher at 2.72% versus the cycle high of 2.3590%.
• Swap rates are flat to 2bps higher. 

Source: Bloomberg Finance LP

Chinese policymakers should optimise primary income distribution to raise residents’ disposable earnings and fundamentally boost consumption, said Chen Yulu, president of Nankai University. Officials need to improve corporate wage growth, refine the minimum wage setting standards and ensure that workers’ incomes grow in step with economic development and labour productivity, Chen said. At the same time, the government needs to expand channels for residents’ property income by regulating capital markets, guiding households toward more rational financial asset allocation and encouraging the activation of idle resources. (Source: Yicai)

China’s foreign exchange reserves reached a 10-year high of USD3.39 trillion at the end of January, marking a USD41.2 billion increase from December 2025, or a 1.23% rise, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). Wen Bin, chief economist at Minsheng Bank, attributed the rise to a combination of asset price changes and exchange rate fluctuations. China’s official gold reserves rose to 74.19 million ounces, an increase of 40,000 ounces from December 2025, marking the 15th consecutive month of gold accumulation. Pang Ming, senior research fellow at the National Finance and Development Laboratory, explained that the central bank’s continuous gold purchases reflect a clear strategy to increase the proportion of non-credit assets in the country’s reserves. (Source: Yicai)