Australian bond futures prices have moved higher amid weaker domestic data and hopes of a fresh stimulus package in the US.

ANZ head of interest rate research Tony Morriss said market expectations the US Federal Reserve would announce fresh stimulus measures this week had boosted demand for bonds.

The Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets on Thursday and Friday and is expected to announce a fresh round of quantitative easing in the US.

“The expectation at the moment is that there is going to be further guidance to keep (lending) rates low and to target longer-dated bonds,” he said.

“At face value that is positive for bonds.”

Mr Morriss said the release of weaker than expected domestic housing data had also contributed to the rise in bond prices.

The number of home loans approved in July fell one per cent, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Monday.

However, Mr Morriss said market expectations the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would cut the cash rate again in the next few months was preventing bond prices from rallying further.

The RBA cut the cash rate by half a percentage point in May and a quarter of a percentage point in June to its current level of 3.5 per cent.

At 1630 AEST on Monday, the September 10-year bond futures contract was trading at 96.960 (implying a yield of 3.040 per cent), up from 96.890 (implying a yield of 3.110 per cent).

The September three-year bond futures contract was at 97.530 (2.470 per cent), up from 97.450 (2.550 per cent).