At the Tokyo lunch break, JGB futures are weaker, -12 compared to settlement levels.
- (MNI) Japan’s inflation-adjusted real wage, a key gauge of household purchasing power, remained in negative territory for a sixth consecutive month in June but narrowed to -1.3% from May’s 2.6% decline, preliminary data from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare showed Wednesday.
- Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said last week he expects real wages to improve toward the end of the year, though it remains difficult to predict when they will turn positive. The sharp wage increases agreed during spring negotiations are gradually being reflected in wage data through July, helping to reduce the negative real wage gap.
- Cash US tsys are flat to 1bp cheaper, with a steepening bias, in today’s Asia-Pac session after yesterday’s twist-flattener.
- Cash JGBs are slightly mixed across benchmarks, with a flattening bias. The benchmark 10-year yield is 0.5bp higher at 1.477% versus the cycle high of 1.616%.
- Swaps have also twist-flattened, with rates1bp higher to2bps lower. Swap spreads are mixed.