ECB held interest rates and asset purchases steady on Thursday and sounded slightly dovish tone and insisted that it would be poised to step in should the outlook take a downward turn. In local bond market, it started slow in the morning before start

Today’s trade recap by our trading desk:-
·         ECB held interest rates and asset purchases steady on Thursday and sounded slightly dovish tone and insisted that it would be poised to step in should the outlook take a downward turn. In local bond market, it started slow in the morning before start seeing strong buying flows in the MGS space concentrated on the belly of the curve. MGS yields eased 1-3 bps tracking the movement of global bond yields and stronger Ringgit.
Malaysia Government Bonds Benchmark Issues MGS Closing Level (%) Change (bp) Volume (RM m) 3-yr 3.400 -1.0 - 5-yr 3.655 -3.0 58 7-yr 3.885 -1.0 23 10-yr 3.930 -2.0 0 15-yr 4.380 - - 20-yr 4.555 - - 30-yr 4.785 - - Source: BondStream, AmBank	Interest Rate Swap Closing Rates IRS Closing Yield (%) Change (bp) 1-yr 3.495 0.0 3-yr 3.620 -1.0 5-yr 3.740 -0.5 7-yr 3.835 -1.5 10-yr 3.985 -1.5 Source: Bloomberg, AmBank