TOKYO: Japanese government bond prices were mostly lower on Thursday, licking wounds after sharp fall from record highs hit earlier this week, although the futures ended higher in a divided market driven more by trading flows than any fundamentals.
The 30-year JGB yield rose 5.0 basis points to 0.760 percent , to stand 30 basis points up from a record low hit just on Tuesday.
Until early this week, investors had rushed to buy long-dated JGBs as the yield on shorter maturities, up to 11 years, plunged to negative levels following the BOJ's decision to introduce negative interest rates.
The reversal was swift once buying dried up, as liquidity has dwindled due to the BOJ's massive bond buying. Also, many Japanese players have reduced trading ahead of the end of Japanese financial year on March 31.
The 20-year yield rose 2.0 basis points to 0.490 percent , compared to Tuesday's record low of 0.305 percent.
The five-year yield rose 0.5 basis point to minus 0.16 percent while the two-year yield also went up 0.5 basis point to minus 0.18 percent.
The Finance Ministry's auction of five-year JGBs attracted decent bids, helping the market to erase some of its earlier losses.
The auction results helped to push up the 10-year JGB futures by as much as 0.37 point. The benchmark March contract ended up 0.05 point at 151.66.
The strength of the futures also supported the cheapest-to-deliver seven-year maturities. The yield on bonds with seven to eight years to maturity fell 0.5 basis point.
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