JGBs little changed ahead of ECB, Fed chair choice

TOKYO: Japanese government bonds were mostly flat on Thursday as market players looked to the European Central Bank's policy meeting as well as who will be chosen as the next chief of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The 10-year JGB yield was flat at 0.065 percent  while the price of the 10-year JGB futures ticked up 0.03 point to 150.38.

The 20-year yield rose 0.5 basis point to 0.595 percent  while the 30-year yield was flat at 0.865 percent .

While the market was mostly little changed, the two-year yield fell 1.0 basis point to minus 0.015 percent after an auction of 2.2 trillion yen two-year JGBs attracted solid demand.

The bid-to-cover ratio in the auction was 5.93, well above 4.11 in the previous auction.

The auction's tail, or the gap between the lowest and accepted price was 0.004, much narrower than 0.009 in the previous two-year JGB auction, pointing to strong demand.

Later in the day, the European Central Bank is expected to  signal a reduction in its bond-buying scheme as the bank gradually withdraws its post-crisis stimulus.