Aust bond futures firmer on US rates talk Australian bond futures prices are slightly higher after an influential journalist said the US Federal Reserve next week could discuss revising its forward guidance on rates. JP Morgan interest rate strategist Sally Auld said US Treasury bonds rallied following the publication of the article by the Wall Street Journal's US Federal Reserve reporter Jon Hilsenrath ahead of next week's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. "The article said the FOMC might adopt new forward guidance on US rates," Ms Auld said. So, yields finished a little bit lower (prices higher) and that was helped by equities not doing particularly well in some parts of the world. Our market underperformed so we didn't rally as much as the US did. Ms Auld said it would be a quiet finish to the week with no domestic data being released. At 0830 AEST, the September 10-year bond futures contract was trading at 96.220 (implying a yield of 3.780 per cent), up from 96.215 (3.785) on Thursday. The September three-year bond futures contract was at 97.300 (2.700 per cent), up from 97.290 (2.710 per cent).