JGB yields edge up after soft 5-year auction amid doubts about BOJ

TOKYO: Yields on Japanese government bonds rose slightly on Tuesday after an auction of five-year debt was met with soft demand due to uncertainty about the outcome of the Bank of Japan's next policy meeting.

An auction of five-year notes drew bids worth 3.25 times the amount sold, which was down from a bid-cover ratio of 3.49 in the previous auction last month.

The BOJ is going to conduct a review of its policy framework when it next meets on March 18-19. BOJ Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya said on Monday he felt bond yields should be allowed to move more.

That statement seemed to contradict Governor Haruhiko Kuroda's comment on Friday that he saw no need to widen the trading band for long-term yields.

Many investors had expected the BOJ to allow 10-year yields to move in a wider range, but mixed signals have made traders more uncertain about the outcome of the policy meeting.

Benchmark 10-year JGB futures fell 0.15 points to 150.98.

The 10-year JGB yield rose 0.02 basis point to 0.130%, while the 20-year JGB yield rose 0.03 basis point to 0.515%.

The 30-year JGB yield edged up to 0.705% but the 40-year JGB yield was unchanged at 0.720%.

The five-year yield rose 0.015 basis point to minus 0.060%.

The two-year JGB yield was unchanged at minus 0.125%.