The Australian bond market is weaker, partly helped by the release of some more good local housing data.

Home building approvals figures for October only had a small 1.8 per cent fall from the three-and-a-half year high recorded in September, official figures showed on Monday.

Market forecasts had centred on a 4.5 per cent fall in October.

UBS interest rate strategist Matthew Johnson says the data was a factor in the safe-haven assets like bonds weakening but the fall in prices started before the data was released.

“If you want to put a finger on where the market traded soft it’s more when the Australian building approvals data came out at 1130 (AEDT),” he said.

“The thing about the building approvals is it wasn’t as weak as people thought it would be, or should be.

“There was sell off in the futures but its not entirely clear why it happened before the data, although the data did accelerate the sell-off.”

At 1630 AEDT on Monday, the December 10-year bond futures contract was trading at 95.770 (implying a yield of 4.230 per cent), down from 95.830 (4.170 per cent) on Friday.

The December three-year bond futures contract was at 96.860 (3.140 per cent), down from 96.920 (3.080 per cent).

On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia meets and is widely expected to keep the cash rate at a record low of 2.5 per cent.

Although there is an RBA meeting and a large amount of local economic data out this week Mr Johnson said bond market eyes will be focused more on the release of US employment figures for November, out on Friday night.