JGB yields follow US yields up amid Jackson Hole caution

TOKYO: Japanese government bond yields inched up on Friday tracking a rise in US Treasury yields overnight amid caution ahead of the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium later in the day that may offer clues on the timing for a tapering of bond purchases.

The 10-year JGB yield rose 1 basis point to 0.025%, with benchmark 10-year JGB futures slipping 0.09 point to 152.12, with a trading volume of 13,515 lots.

The five-year yield added 0.5 basis point to minus 0.115%, while the two-year yield was flat at minus 0.135%.

The 20-year yield was also flat, at 0.400%, while the 30-year bond did not trade, last yielding 0.635%. The 40-year JGB yield rose 0.5 basis point to 0.720%.

Overnight, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose as high as 1.375% for the first time in two weeks.

A speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell later on Friday at the Fed's annual economic symposium is the main event for markets this week.

Ahead of that, several Fed officials came out Thursday to make the case for earlier tapering, despite the uncertainties from the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant.

St. Louis Fed president James Bullard added he expected Powell's speech to have a "good assessment" of where the economy stands.

"There's the possibility we will get a mix of hawkish and dovish signals, with a positive view on tapering but a cautious appraisal of the labour market," said a market participant at a foreign securities firm. "This time it's difficult to call."