US Treasuries gained but the yield curve steepened with Treasury secretary suggesting plans for sale of super long 50- and 100-year bonds. Meanwhile, there was little in terms of macro data. Demand was supported by this week's less-hawkish-than-exp

Market Roundup

• US Treasuries gained but the yield curve steepened with Treasury secretary suggesting plans for sale of super long 50- and 100-year bonds. Meanwhile, there was little in terms of macro data. Demand was supported by this week's less-hawkish-than-expected FOMC minutes.
• The US Treasury secretary’s interview with networks caused the dollar to fall prior to the US open. In his interview with CNBC, Steven Mnuchin tampered down the enthusiasm over tax cuts indicating that he seeks to get a very significant tax reform passed before the Congress August recess. This could prove to be a difficult target to achieve due to the complexity and competing interests involved in overhauling the tax code.
• In Ringgit bond market, sentiment was aided by less-hawkish FOMC minutes, pressuring the yield curve a tad lower, in conjunction with lower IRS curve. Aside, Bank Negara announced the 30-year reopening auction with issue size of RM2.0 billion, with additional RM1.0 billion issuance to be privately placed, higher than RM2.5 billion projected by us. WI was last heard at 4.75/65%.
• In Thailand, spillover from Fed minutes increased demand for intermediates, especially in LB19DA, LB206A, LB25DA, LB267A, and LB26DA as the yields moved 1-2bps lower. Trading activities were relatively quiet after this week's FOMC minutes. Foreign investors bought short-end bonds at Bt480 million while registered as a net seller at Bt2.93 billion to bonds maturing longer about Bt3.18 billion.
• Indonesian govvies were traded in tight range on Thursday, looked directionless as market digested FOMC minutes. Although UST rallied, IndoGB did not follow the movement. Some net buying action on 7-year bucket was seen, while the rest of the curve looked stable. Market volume increased to IDR13.1 trillion and dominated by bonds maturing in over 10 years (44%).