JGB yields edge up ahead of BOJ's policy decision

Japanese government bond (JGB) yields edged higher on Thursday as investors awaited signals on future interest rate hikes from Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda's comments at his post-policy meeting news conference on Friday.

The 10-year JGB yield inched up 0.5 basis point (bp) to 1.980%, matching the 18-year high reached in the previous session.

With the BOJ widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points to a three-decade high of 0.75% at the end of its two-day policy meeting on Friday, the market awaits signals from Ueda on the future rate-hike path.


"The trade is limited ahead of the conclusion of the policy meeting. It is hard to make active bets on the bonds," said Miki Den, a senior Japan rate strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities.

The two-year JGBs, which are most sensitive to the BOJ's policy rate, had not been traded, as of 0400 GMT.

The five-year yield was flat at 1.440%.

The 20-year JGB yield rose 1.5 bps to 2.935% and the 30-year JGB yield rose 1 bp to 3.360%.

The 40-year JGB yield rose 1.5 bps to 3.670%.