The Australian bond market is slightly weaker but getting some support from buyers as it hits the bottom end of its recent ranges.

Westpac senior market strategist Damien McColough said bond prices got a modest boost from retail trade data that showed a weak rise in spending in February.

“You got a bit of a bounce out of the domestic data but I don’t think there’s a lot of conviction around it at these levels,” he said.

“We’re at the bottom of the price ranges at the moment and it’s a bit of a test to see whether the support will hold.

“We’ve been in this range for so long that I don’t think anybody is committed to pushing it one way or another ahead of the payrolls tomorrow.”

The US government will release non-farm payrolls figures for March during the offshore session on Friday night, the key indicator of American employment growth.

Mr McColough said the figures are especially important because they will be the first US jobs figures not affected by the disastrous weather that hit the US at the beginning of the year.

At 1630 AEDT on Thursday, the June 2014 10-year bond futures contract was trading at 95.800 (implying a yield of 4.200 per cent), down from 95.815 (4.185 per cent) on Wednesday.

The June 2014 three-year bond futures contract was at 96.880 (3.120 per cent), down from 96.890 (3.110 per cent).