TOKYO: Long-dated Japanese government bond (JGB) prices firmed on Tuesday as a 30-year debt auction drew steady demand and losses in Tokyo shares boosted the safe-haven appeal of debt.

Japan's Nikkei ended down 0.6% at its lowest in more than six weeks after China defied Washington by announcing retaliatory trade tariffs, hurting investor appetite for risk.

The benchmark 10-year JGB yield shed half-a-basis point to minus 0.055%.

Long-dated maturities fared well after Tuesday's 30-year JGB auction attracted ample demand.

The bid-to-cover ratio, a gauge of demand, at the 700 billion yen ($6.39 billion) 30-year sale was relatively high at 4.65, compared with 4.55 at the previous auction last month.

The 20-year yield shed 1 basis point to 0.360%.

The 30-year and 40-year yields  each fell half-a-basis point to 0.535% and 0.560%, respectively.

Copyright Reuters, 2019

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