Australian bonds plunge in muted trading ahead of RBA’s May monetary policy meeting minutes

Australian government bonds plunged during Asian trading session Monday amid a muted trading session that witnessed data of little economic significance, ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) May monetary policy meeting minutes, scheduled to be released on May 21 by 01:30GMT.

The yield on Australia’s benchmark 10-year note, which moves inversely to its price, jumped 4 basis points to 1.689 percent, the yield on the long-term 30-year bond also surged nearly 4 basis points to 2.331 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year traded nearly 3-1/2 basis points higher at 1.266 percent by 04:50GMT.

The USD finished the week strongly. AUD/USD opened higher following the weekend’s election result however this is unlikely to be sustained as domestic interest rate risks remain to the downside, ANZ Research reported.

The Treasury curve flattened slightly after positive data on consumer sentiment. Locally, all focus will be on Tuesday’s RBA communications, with Governor Lowe talking and the May meeting minutes out, the report added.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 index jumped 1.70 percent to trade at 6,479.5 by 04:55GMT, while at 04:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly AUD Strength Index remained neutral at -50.19 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex