TOKYO: Benchmark Japanese government bonds firmed on Tuesday, bolstered by expectations of aggressive easing steps from the Bank of Japan.
Nikkei reported that BOJ governor nominee Haruhiko Kuroda may launch new monetary easing steps as soon as he takes office next week, even before the bank's regular policy board meeting in early April.
The 10-year yield edged down half a basis point to 0.650 percent.
Ten-year JGB futures ticked up 0.10 point to 145.07, inching closer to a record high of 145.50 hit on Friday.
The five-year yield rose half a basis point to 0.115 percent, as the Ministry of Finance offered 2.7 trillion yen of notes with that maturity on Tuesday with a coupon of 0.1 percent, matching the record-low coupon of last month's offering.
Last month's sale met robust demand even with its low coupon, with a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.81, up from 3.44 and 3.54 in the previous two auctions. The five-year yield skidded to a record low of 0.095 percent in cash trading on March 4.
The 20-year yield added half a basis point to 1.635 percent, pulling further away from a near 10-year low of 1.450 percent hit last Tuesday, ahead of a sale of 1.2 trillion yen of 20-year bonds on Thursday.
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