TOKYO: Japanese government bonds on Thursday joined a rebound in yields led by Treasuries after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell removed some uncertainty on the US policy outlook, adopting a measured stance towards rate hikes starting this month.
The 10-year JGB yield was up 3.5 basis points to 0.165%, as of 0443 GMT, recovering from Wednesday's low of 0.130%, a level unseen since Jan. 21.
The five-year yield rose 3 basis points to 0.005%, climbing from the lowest since Jan. 26 at minus 0.025% from the previous session.
Two-year yields rose 1 basis point to minus 0.040%, lifting from Wednesday's nearly one-month low of minus 0.050%.
Testifying to Congress overnight, Powell said he would back a 25-basis point hike this month, and would be "prepared to move more aggressively" if inflation does not abate as quickly as expected, while also keeping an eye on the impact of the Ukraine conflict.
US Treasury yields rose from eight-week lows in response.
"There were no surprises in the testimony, but some people thought the uncertainty over Ukraine might even lead the Fed to forgo a hike this month, and now it seems that rates will indeed rise, it's pushing up bond yields," said Makoto Suzuki, a senior bond strategist at Okasan Securities.
The 20-year JGB yield rose 2.5 basis points to 0.640%, recovering from the lowest since Feb. 7 at 0.610% touched on Wednesday.
The 30-year JGB yield rose a more subdued 1.5 basis points to 0.870%, reined in by a strong auction of the securities.
Benchmark 10-year JGB futures fell 0.47 point to 150.74, with a trading volume of 23,885 lots.
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